Hanekaeri
by BriscoNLogan
Summary: By pikachumaniac & Nephthys. Chapter 10 is up! Ryou & Honda are involved, but when Ryuuji reveals certain feelings, Ryou is left shattered. Just when Ryou is at his lowest, he stumbles onto a plan. Complications follow. SetoxRyou HondaxRyuuji HondaxRyou
1. Almost Like Being in Love

**Authors' Note:**  Hello!  Welcome one and all to the first ever _BriscoNLogan fic.  We are otherwise known as Nephthys (Brisco) and Pikachumaniac (Logan), but due to our admittedly disturbing affection for "Law & Order" and our inability to think of any other clever names at the time, this is what we ended up with for our joint writing experiments.  This chapter is a teaser, so expect the rest to be longer.  Now, here is where we would indulge in some witty banter (*cough cough*), but since Logan isn't around right now, I'm going to cut right to the one-liner and cue the music.  Er… yeah, I mean, get down to the fic._

**Summary:  **Ryou and Honda are involved, but when Ryuuji reveals certain feelings, Ryou is left shattered.  Just when Ryou is at his lowest, he stumbles onto a plan to win Honda back… There are bound to be some complications… Honda*Ryou, Honda*Ryuuji, Seto*Ryou

**Disclaimer:** YGO belongs to the great and glorious Takahashi Kazuki. We bow to his greatness… *grin*

**_Hanekaeri _**__

****

****

****

**_Chapter 1_**

****

**_Almost Like Being in Love…_**

It was quite unbelievable to him, really.  Honda Hiroto had never expected to find himself in this position.  After all, Bakura Ryou was so quiet and soft-spoken much of the time that he hadn't imagined that he'd ever have any idea of how he really felt.  And yet, there they were, sitting there, having lunch together.  Eating together was one of the most typical things that a couple could do, so it really shouldn't have been something that was surprising... they'd been a couple for a while now, after all.  Still, Honda couldn't hide the grin that spread across his features as he gazed over at Ryou.  "Would you like one...?" he asked, holding out a strawberry.  "I brought them for you..." 

Ryou couldn't help but blush slightly, although a slight blush on the pale face made him the same color as the offered fruit. Almost hesitantly, he reached out to take it, his face burning as his fingers lightly brushed against Honda's. For one reason or another, touch was something that made the teen blush easily, and he had endured quite a bit of hell from the spirit of the Sennen Ring about it. Not to imply that he didn't normally get much complaining from the former thief... it seemed to him that Yami no Bakura always had something to say when it came to his relationship with the brunette. 

 Honda was quite fond of the way Ryou would blush so cutely at even the slightest contact between them.  It was quite endearing.  In truth, it probably made Ryou appear to be far more innocent than he really was.  Perhaps that was why Honda's first instinct was always to be protective of Ryou.  Even from the time before they were together, there was just something about the silver-haired boy that seemed to make him want to watch over him.  Ryou seemed...fragile.  That might also explain why Honda was rather hesitant to let things go too far between them.  Kisses goodnight and hand holding were just about as far as they had gone.  The last thing Honda wanted to do was to make Ryou uncomfortable.  

"So, how has your day been so far, Ryou?" Honda asked, smiling at the one beside him.  It was truly nice to be able to share lunch time with Ryou.  Honda did enjoy the quiet moments that they spent together as a couple in the middle of what was an otherwise average school day.   

Although sometimes he couldn't help but wish they could have something... more.  Not to say that he was unsatisfied with their relationship, certainly. Honestly, there were few things that he cared for more than the white-haired teen... but at the same time, he couldn't help but sometimes feel that it wasn't exactly what he wanted.  

Eh, it was probably nothing more than hormones.  

Ryou smiled shyly as he seemed to contemplate the ruby red fruit before him, "It could have been worse... the pop quiz was difficult and..." He couldn't help but pause midway through his sentence as he looked at Honda with a cutely disapproving look, "Why am I telling you all of this anyway? You're in my classes!" 

Honda grinned, as he caught the look from Ryou.  At times he wondered if Ryou had any idea how cute he was when he wore expressions like that.  "Obviously, I know that.  Maybe I just wanted to know what you thought.  That or maybe I just wanted to see how long it would take you to remember that fact..."  Honda winked and tapped Ryou lightly on the nose.  "I know, you can't resist the urge to confide everything in me.  So, go on and tell me all about the quiz..." he teased laughingly. 

Ryou declined to answer and instead stuck his tongue out, causing the brunette to laugh. It was a nice sound... nothing special really, but it was still... nice.

At least, that's how Otogi Ryuuji had always thought of it.

Currently, the green-eyed teen was sitting at a bit of a distance from the couple, distracting himself by reading a book. Never mind that he couldn't absorb any of the book's words and that he kept getting distracted by Honda's laugh.

At this rate, someone might think that he was... was in love with Honda! Which most certainly was _not the case... definitely, definitely, definitely not. It was a ludicrous idea, really. Why would he be in love with...._

Perhaps it was better to not answer that question.

The thing of it was, this constant exposure to Honda and Ryou was slowly getting to him.  It was more than just an annoyance.  He used to tell himself that they were just overly cute together, and that it was only disgust that he felt... but now Ryuuji could no longer deny that it was something more.  Perhaps jealousy was too extreme a word...  Then again...  

The raven-haired teen shook his head and sighed a bit.  He really was going to have to do something about this.  It was to the point now where he felt he was becoming a bit too obvious, and really, Ryuuji couldn't have that, now could he?  For others to see him sighing over someone else, just as all of those females sighed over him?  That just wouldn't do for Otogi Ryuuji.  Wouldn't do at all... 


	2. Fairy Tale Ending

**Authors' Note:**  Hello!  Yes, it's Brisco and Logan, back again with another chapter.  Don't expect us to update all the time with such freakish speed, but the first chapter was rather short, and we've got more written already, not to mention that Brisco is something of an impatient individual.  Sooo… enjoy the chapter!  Thanks so much to all who read the first one!

Teb Teb:  Thanks!  We definitely will!  We've got plenty more ahead!

No Name:  So glad that you think so!  Hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint you, as we start getting right down to the plot now.

fani90:  It'll be lots of fun!  You should have several chapters to look forward to by the time you get back.  Thanks so much for reading it while you still had computer access!

Shamanic Guardian Lena:  Oh, a challenge!  Lucky for you, Logan (PM) is an expert at brainwashing.   Hehehe… Well, hopefully you can stick around for a few chapters and see if the Honda/Ryuuji grows on you.  And starting in the next chapter, Seto will make his appearance, so then you'll have some Seto/Ryou interaction to help tide you over, hopefully!  Thank you so much for reading!

**Disclaimer:** YGO belongs to the great and glorious Takahashi Kazuki. We bow to his greatness… *grin*

**_Chapter 2_**

****

**_Fairy Tale Ending_**

****

****

"I... I had a really fun time, Hiroto," Ryou smiled, his pale cheeks a slight crimson. Personally, he thought that what he had just said sounded... well, pretty lame. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder how anyone managed to stick around with him, especially someone as nice as Honda. Unless that was why he did it? Because he was trying to be nice? Oh Kami-sama, why was he always second-guessing himself like this? He should just... just be happy with what he had.

"Mmm," Honda mumbled, still looking at his white-haired koi. Ryou couldn't help but blush again, and he would have ducked his head away if he wasn't feeling somewhat frozen. Why was Honda staring at him like that anyway? It made him slightly uncomfortable, being under the scrutiny of... well, anybody.

Even if he was under the constant scrutiny of Yami no Bakura.... 

_He looks so amazing in the moonlight..._  Honda let a soft smile form on his lips, as he drew closer to Ryou.  His hazel eyes were filled with warm affection, and he simply studied Ryou's features for a long moment.  Honda let a hand find one of Ryou's heated cheeks, marveling at the sensation of such smooth skin under his fingers, before he tilted his head inward and let his lips brush gently against Ryou's.  For a moment, Honda lingered there, feeling an internal urge to kiss the silver-haired boy a bit more deeply this time.  And yet... he could not...  Not without knowing that Ryou was ready for more.  With a hint of reluctance, the brunette drew back.

Ryou's breath had seemed to catch in his throat at the moment that kiss found his lips.  He knew that he should be more used to it by now, but he truly wasn't.  Perhaps it was his lingering fear that this would all evaporate suddenly that always made it impossible for him to grow accustomed to being kissed.  When Honda did kiss him, though, Ryou's eyes slid slowly shut, and he let himself lean into the warm sensation.  It felt wonderful to lose himself in a moment of closeness with the brunette... To feel wanted... cared for... Ryou truly needed that.  As Honda broke the kiss, Ryou drew back breathlessly, his cheeks burning a bit more brightly now, as he shyly looked away.  

"Ryou..." There was something... strange about his expression, Ryou thought to himself. He didn't know what it was, but there was something that he hadn't seen before. He wasn't sure what it was or what it meant, but there was just something.... "Do you want me to come in with you?"

What? Ryou couldn't help but blink at the question, which he didn't understand. Did he say something or do something that implied Honda needing to come in with him? Did he do something wrong again? What could he have done this time to warrant such an odd question? "Um... I don't think so? Why?"

The words were carefully spoken; he didn't want to hurt Honda's feelings, but he didn't quite understand what the brunette was trying to say to him. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed and rather stupid. Why was he always seemingly in the dark about these types of things? 

There was a silence before Honda finally just shrugged, planting a gentle kiss on Ryou's forehead. "Never mind, Ryou. It wasn't that important."

Ryou couldn't help but bite his lip as he nodded, still unable to get rid of those nagging questions in the back of his mind. And foremost among those thoughts was the knowledge that whatever Honda was talking about, it wasn't mere words. It was important to the brunette, but he had not been able to understand and still could not. And in doing so, he had apparently hurt Honda...

After leaving Ryou's house, Honda had begun to walk home.  It truly was a beautiful night, but he just couldn't seem to enjoy it right now.  He just felt so... torn... On the one hand, he truly did care about Ryou... but on the other... this was beginning to get a little frustrating.  Honda wanted to say something, but at the same time, he knew how sensitive Ryou tended to be.  _What if I tell him that I want for us to go further, and he freaks out?  Or what if it makes him feel like he's not enough for me, just as he is...?  And with Ryou being as innocent as he is, I know that I'll never be able to go about this subtly...  I almost think that the direct approach would be best... just try to take things further... but I just can't do that to Ryou without making sure that he's ready first...  He really is the type of person who might go along with something because he thinks that if he doesn't, he'll lose me..._  Honda sighed to himself in frustration and put a hand to his forehead.  He was so caught up in his in thoughts as he walked down the block towards his house that he didn't even seen the shadow of the figure lurking behind the large tree in front of his next-door neighbor's house. 

Ryuuji hadn't meant for it to happen, he really hadn't. Okay, so maybe he was lying, but only a little! He _knew deep down inside (it just happened to be very, very deep down inside to the point where he rarely listened) that what he was about to do was wrong and unfair not only to Honda, but also to Ryou. But at the same time... he wanted this very badly._

So, he threw caution to the wind and acted completely out of character by pouncing on Honda as he passed by.  After all, if anybody ever questioned him (that 'anybody' being Honda, most likely), he could always blame it on a rabid squirrel. 

"...." Honda couldn't help but stare at his 'attacker', who was currently looking as shocked as he was. "Otogi?!"

Ryuuji couldn't help but smile very, very weakly before trying to point at the tree, "There was a squirrel?" 

At Ryuuji's words, Honda raised an eyebrow rather suspiciously and eyed the tree critically.  "A squirrel?" he asked in clearly disbelieving fashion.  "And how exactly was you jumping on top of me supposed to help...?" Honda asked, grinning in an amused fashion.  "You nearly knocked me over, grabbing me like that."

For a moment, Ryuuji was rather nonplussed.  It was so seldom that he acted in purely spontaneous fashion, and now he really had no other explanation to fall back on, save the truth...  Oh, and his natural charm.  Ryuuji laughed a bit nervously and shrugged.  "So, perhaps there wasn't a squirrel..."  He drew in a deep breath, summoning up his most charming of smiles.  "I know that I might have knocked you over... and perhaps I wouldn't have minded...  I just couldn't take it anymore, Honda-kun..."  Ryuuji waited for the inevitable question to come, feeling his heart begin to race in his chest, even as he carefully controlled his external expression.  He didn't want to drive Honda away before he even had a remote chance of coming out with it.

Honda had been waiting for an explanation, but he blinked at Ryuuji when one was finally offered.  He might be fairly clueless much of the time, but that sounded like... well, it sounded rather suggestive, at the least...  "Couldn't take what...?" Honda asked slowly, his hazel eyes locking on the jade ones belonging to Ryuuji that seemed to sparkle mysteriously up at him in the moonlight.  Suddenly, Honda was aware of the closeness between them... the way Ryuuji's body seemed to still be pressed up against his a bit.  _Calm down, Hiroto... He's just a flirt...  Think of Ryou... Gotta think about Ryou... Can't think that he means something by this..._

Ryuuji let his features sober, and he offered Honda an almost sad smile for just a moment.  "I can't take any of it..."  The raven-haired teen shook his head.  "Demo, that really isn't my excuse for what I just did... I wanted to talk to you, but when I saw you walking along like that, looking so upset, I just had to do something.  You're so good at making people laugh, Honda-kun... You shouldn't have to be upset like that..." Ryuuji murmured, twining his arms around the brunette's waist now, before he leaned upwards to kiss him.

Honda had ceased his internal monologue when Ryuuji began to speak to him in such a serious fashion.  _Why does he seem almost... unhappy...?  Everyone adores Otogi... what could possibly be bothering him this much...?  As far as I know, he isn't having any problems...  Of course, as Ryuuji went on, things began to become clearer.  It was completely unbelievable to Honda... but what else could it be?  Still, even though he'd begun to guess the truth, Honda hadn't seen the kiss coming until it was all but too late.  The brunette's body stiffened as those arms wrapped around his waist, but before he could utter one word of protest, Ryuuji's lips were against his._

It was just a chaste kiss at first.  Not one so very different from the way that he usually kissed Ryou... and yet... it felt entirely different.  Ryuuji had this confidence to him, this fluid sensuality... This was a kiss that felt as if it would lead to something more.  Oh, and much though he didn't want to, Honda couldn't help but respond to it.  

For his part, Ryuuji was somewhat surprised that Honda hadn't outright pushed him away and punched him for attempting something like this.  A thrill raced through his body as those lips were pressed against his.  Just to have this little taste of Honda was more than he'd really hoped for.  _I'd say that I'm even better than I thought, but then, this is Honda...  Whatever the reason, I hope it's not just physical... Just not this time..._  It felt good, being pressed up against the other's strong, muscular frame.  Before he even knew he was doing it, Ryuuji was deepening the kiss, sliding his tongue along the other's lips and parting his to invite the other in.

Even though the shock that came from feeling a kiss from someone deepen like that for the first time should have snapped Honda out of it, he just couldn't help himself at all.  He'd been longing for something like this for quite some time, and Ryuuji was just a very good kisser...  Honda closed his eyes, and for a moment, there was just an intense entangling of tongues and lips.  It was only when air began to become an issue that Honda realized exactly what he'd done.  He slowly drew back from Ryuuji, wearing a rather stricken expression now.  In the space of a moment, Honda had gone further with Ryuuji than he had with Ryou in the entire time that they'd been dating.  "What was that...?" he asked breathlessly, half-speaking to himself and half-speaking to Ryuuji.  Honda had no anger now, only shocked puzzlement and distress.

Ryuuji gazed up at Honda, unable to keep a rather affectionate smile from his lips.  Even though Honda was upset, he just had this rather cute way of asking the most idiotic-sounding questions at times.  "That was me kissing you..." Ryuuji murmured, sliding a finger up to Honda's lips to quiet him.  "I only want a chance to tell you what I came here to tell you.  Then, it's all up to you.  If you want, we can pretend that this night never happened.  I won't do anything to hurt you, Honda-kun."  

Then Ryuuji drew in a deep breath, taking a step back from Honda and turning away.  "What I can't take anymore... is seeing you with Bakura-kun.  It's just been eating away at me, I guess...  It isn't that I don't like him... or that I think that he's bad for you... it's just... I don't like seeing you with him... because I want to be with you myself..." Ryuuji admitted quietly, turning to gaze over at Honda with a rather intense expression fixed on his features, green eyes dark and clear at the same moment. 

"Is this a joke?" Honda's words seemed to stumble out like a miniature cascade without any prompting from himself. "You... You have to be kidding me."

"Honda...."

"I mean... I'm with Ryou now!" he was starting to rant, but he couldn't help it. In the back of his mind, something managed to register the lack of an honorific when Ryuuji said his name, but that didn't matter at the moment. This was just crazy! "And you... half the school is in love with you! Did somebody put you up to this? Maybe Jyounouchi? This sounds like Jyounouchi's doing... wait until I strangle that stupid..."

"Hiroto!" Ryuuji practically screamed in frustration. Honda couldn't help but stare again... suddenly, the calm, annoyingly confident facade that the green-eyed teen always put up was gone, leaving behind... this.

What was 'this', exactly? 

"What?!" Honda was fair close to screeching himself. This was just... just so wrong! After all, there was still Ryou. Ryou! He had to remember Ryou, he couldn't hurt Ryou... not for this stupid prank because it was a prank and nothing more than a prank. Right?

"I'm baring my soul to you, and you think it's just some joke!"

"Cause it is... isn't it?!" 

Ryuuji drew closer and planted both of his hands firmly on Honda's shoulders, locking his gaze on those dubious hazel eyes.  "Hiroto, this is no joke.  You're involved with Bakura.  Do you really think that I'm the kind of person who would kiss someone who wasn't free like that if I didn't mean it?  Do you really believe I'd go so far to tease you?"  Then a charming smile formed on Ryuuji's lips.  "You know, your unassuming nature is really very attractive...  The way the thought of my wanting you is so unbelievable as to the point of being impossible for you to accept... It's quite flattering..." Ryuuji purred, almost wanting to just up and kiss Honda all over again.  Still, he couldn't afford to leave Honda in doubt now.  "Hiroto, listen to me...  I've found myself becoming... drawn to you...  There are so many reasons:  your warmth, your humor, your good-naturedness.  This isn't a joke.  I'm telling you this because I can't take it any longer.  What you do now is entirely up to you..."

When those hands caught his shoulders so smoothly, Honda's eyes widened a bit.  It was then that the world seemed to slow, and all he could see were those vividly green eyes of Ryuuji's, burning into his own with such intensity.  The truth of the matter shone in them with bright clarity.  "Otogi..." Honda murmured, trying to absorb the other's words.  It was just too much.  He didn't see how this could have possibly happened... and yet, before Honda could even ask for reasons, Ryuuji was presenting them to him.  "What am I supposed to do...?" he murmured softy, gazing up at the night sky.  There was Ryou... and now... there was this... 

Except 'this' happened to be an extremely insane, improbable, and dare he think _unlikely_ situation that was too... too weird to be true, if anything. Certainly not too good to be true, because this wasn't what he would call a good situation. Although he supposed that some people would give an arm and leg to be in his place....That, though, had nothing to do with anything. 

Ryuuji was not what one would call apprehensive, although a little part of his brain was suggesting that maybe it would be better if he was. After all, this was most likely not going to end the way he wanted it to... to be truthful though, he didn't really know how he wanted it to end. It would be absolutely wonderful if Honda suddenly grabbed his hand, tipped him over backwards like those fairy tale couples, and gave him a long, romantic kiss.  However, since this was reality and reality was rarely that nice, it was rather doubtful that the before-imagined situation was going to happen.

He really did want it to, though. Wanted it to happen... But it wasn't like he could just flat out tell the brunette that.  Could he? 

"I don't know..." Ryuuji whispered.  It wouldn't be right to steer Honda in a particular direction, per se... Though, he did lean in just slightly, unconsciously moistening his lips a little for a kiss that he'd already decided was never to come.

The way that Ryuuji was looking at him was more impossible than anything.  The enticing look in those jade-hued eyes... the intensity...  _It's as if he wants me to kiss him again..._  That seemed impossible in Honda's mind, and yet, given what just had happened, Honda had to remind himself that it was utterly and completely possible, and even likely, in fact.  The way those eyes bored into his seemed to slowly drive all of the other thoughts out of Honda's mind.  As if by the pure magnetism of that gaze alone, Honda drew closer, catching Ryuuji's hand in his.  Without thinking, his arm was wrapped around Ryuuji's back, and he leaned forward to catch him in an off-balance kiss.  It didn't take long to deepen, and eventually, Honda's head was spinning from the contact to the point where it felt as if he were the one being tilted back. 

It wasn't often that anyone caught Ryuuji by surprise, but to say that he was completely shocked by Honda's actions would be quite accurate.  It was more than the fact that Honda had just suddenly decided to kiss him, which was rather out of character and a complete surprise in and of itself.  It was that one moment, Ryuuji had been imagining a happy little fairy tale ending for himself, and the next, he was actually living it out.  _Though I'm sure that happily ever after is out of the question... I'll take it... Ryuuji thought, losing himself in the kiss.  Really, even if Honda hadn't had as much practice as he had, Ryuuji would have to admit that Honda was quite a good kisser.  When their lips finally parted, leaving both of them slightly breathless, Ryuuji smirked up at Honda, green eyes sparkling with amusement.  "You read my mind, Honda-kun..." _

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Honda asked as they both straightened.

"Exactly what I said," Ryuuji purred as he buried his head in Honda's shoulder, causing the brunette to smile slightly as he slowly, almost cautiously, embraced the black-haired teen.

And inside, not very far from the surface, a single question kept bouncing through his skull, searching desperately for an answer that nobody could give.  _What am I supposed to tell Ryou? _


	3. Heartbreak

Author Notes:  
Hello, mina-san! Here's the next chapter for this wonderful little ficcy...   
and again we thank everyone for reading the first two chapters! Things are   
going to start happeningggggg this chapter... *expects everyone to look   
fascinated... or Logan is going to come and... and... scare you with Yuki*   
so enjoy everyone!  
  
Thank you's:  
  
neko_mimi: *quickly hands you more of the story* Feeling better? XD  
  
The Evil Laugh: Well, how would you take it if your lover ran off with a   
different person... and as Nalan-san put it... made out on your street?   
*smacks Honda and Ryuuji* Nice going, smart ones. Anyhow, nice to know there   
are other Law & Order buffs out there.... XD  
  
Shamanic Guardian Lena: *restrains Ryuuji* You are ALLOWED to conk Honda-kun   
as many times as you want.  
Honda: I thought you liked me!  
PM: Keep dreaming.

**_Chapter 3_**

****

**_Heartbreak_**

Ryou wasn't sure who he was supposed to hate. Which wasn't a very good thought, truly, since Bakura Ryou was supposed to be a nice person and never supposed to hate anybody.

In theory, at least.

Now though… he wanted to be anything but the nice person who liked everyone and was friends with everyone. Even those people who had tried to kill him… or really get him killed, if one was thinking about Yami no Bakura.

Currently, he wished that he could have the audacity to do anything other than sit at his desk and pretend that everything was all right.

He also hadn't been sure about how to react when Honda had broken the news. Was he supposed to sit there and say, "I'm proud of you for moving on?" Somehow, he doubted that. And even if he was supposed to say that, he wouldn't have.

He barely remembered what he had done… how he had reacted. It was currently a vague, empty fog in his mind that made as much sense as a book in a foreign language that one knew nothing about. It spoke to him in words he could not understand… it gave him memories he could no longer remember. It was as if nothing had happened.

Absolutely nothing.

So, currently, he sat his desk and pretended to listen to the teacher. As well as you could when your ex-boyfriend was sitting approximately two seats behind you… and his new boyfriend is sitting two seats to the right of you. Which isn't very well, so it wasn't of any particular surprise that he couldn't understand the teacher's lecture about the… whatever she was talking about.  

He didn't have any idea about what she was trying to say….

What were Honda's reasons, again?  He could barely remember that… though he didn't really want to remember it.

Kaiba Seto often did not spend much time in class paying attention to the lesson.  It was usually a waste of his time, anyway, and he had other things to concentrate on.  Typically, this involved working on things for Kaiba Corporation or mentally plotting out strategies for defeating Yuugi, but today Seto couldn't focus on the papers before him.  That likely had something to do with the faint sniffling sound that had risen up beside him.  Ryou was wearing a rather blank expression, and Seto had distinctly heard a few sniffles coming from his direction.  It just made it rather hard to concentrate, given that sniffling was a somewhat distracting sound.

Still, Seto being Seto, he tried to force himself to focus on his work.  Bakura Ryou was none of his concern, and it was none of his business why Ryou seemed oddly sad, but in a blankly detached sort of a way, today.  Something was obviously wrong, but unlike Yuugi-tachi, Seto wasn't about to interfere in someone else's business.  After all, if he were feeling miserable, he'd prefer to be left to do so in peace, so he would afford others the same courtesy.  

When class finally came to an end, Seto felt a bit relieved, as the effort of forcing himself to concentrate on his work and pretend to pay attention to class had seemed a bit strenuous today.  He meticulously organized his papers and stowed them, ignoring the way others hurried out, eager to escape into the bright afternoon sunlight.  Finally, when things were arranged to Seto's satisfaction, he turned to leave the classroom, only to collide with something soft and pale, a flutter of papers whooshing up around him as a pale arm grasped the front of his jacket.  "Bakura...?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow and gazing down at the one who had just unleashed the maelstrom of books and papers that eventually came to rest on the floor. 

Ryou didn't reply to the question, instead continuing to cling onto the jacket while staring at the mess on the ground. He barely seemed to notice what was going on around him, except for the papers and textbooks and binders and… and… and how much time was he going to have to take to organize it anyway? Not only pick it up but organize it and get them into the right places and… and… he didn't have time for this.

Well, actually he did… no more need to put off time for dates, right? Just… work, work, work, and….

Before he could stop himself, he found himself bursting into rather ugly, embarrassing tears. 

Well, make that extremely ugly, embarrassing tears. 

It was as if everything had reached its climax in that single moment. Unable to maintain his composure any longer and no longer caring about who was around to witness his decidedly embarrassing breakdown, Ryou had simply lost any control over his emotions. Not to imply that his control was ever that good... but still.... 

Seto's other eyebrow leapt up as Ryou completely ignored his question and continued to grasp his jacket. If anything, his grip seemed to tighten on the fabric. Seto frowned faintly, following Ryou's gaze as he took in the mess of books and papers that now surrounded them. He really wasn't going to have any choice about whether or not he would help the silver-haired boy gather up his things, because it would be all but impossible to take a step in any direction without setting foot on one paper or another. It would not exactly be the best use of his time, but helping Ryou gather up his things wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.  
  
Seto sighed softly, raising his gaze towards Ryou as he did so. "I'll help you g--" The brunette's words broke off in mid-sentence as suddenly, and with no real warning whatsoever, Ryou had tears streaming down his cheeks. For a moment, Seto simply froze. To say that Kaiba Seto did not have the faintest clue as to how to handle this situation would be putting it mildly. In the course of his life, he pretty much managed to avoid people bursting into tears before him. Sure, there might have been the occasional moment with Mokuba when he'd been younger, but his younger brother knew him well enough not to expect his behavior to be typical, and besides, he was more comfortable around Mokuba than around anyone else. And that was the sum total of his experience. His presence was too imposing to invite confidences, let alone to encourage someone to cry on his shoulder. Seto didn't tend to spend much time around females at all, least of all those who might have actually been emotional enough to break down in front of him.  
  
So, unlike his typical cool and reasoned manner of handling any situation, Seto was utterly nonplussed by this sudden turn of events. For a long moment, he simply gazed down at Ryou with wide azure eyes, trying to come up with some solution that would put an end to his tears. Honestly, Seto needed to find some way to make him stop crying before the situation just grew too awkward for words, and he was forced to stay there until Ryou just wept himself out. Assuming that ever happened. Really, Seto wasn't quite sure how such things worked.   
  
He considered trying ordering Ryou to stop crying, just being a little stern or harsh to try to snap him out of it, but judging by the way people tended to respond to such things, he rather expected that would prompt all the more tears from Ryou. There was no way that Seto could try to reason with Ryou, as he most certainly would have tried to do, because he had no notion of the other's reasons for crying in the first place. Suddenly, a rather unfortunate idea occurred to Seto. It was an unfortunate idea, because he was so desperate for some solution that he was actually willing to try it. Seto knew that physical comfort tended to be employed in situations such as these. So, gently, and with a rather uncomfortable expression on his features, Seto gathered Ryou into his arms and embraced him. Seto remained silent with his arms wrapped around the other's slender form, hoping that this would stop the tears.

To be frank, it didn't work.  
  
What happened, instead, was that Ryou was rather unfortunately reminded of all the times when a certain other brunette had done that to him as well, with the same exact hopes. And while the initial gesture was comforting, the memory of what had happened that day was anything but. So instead of calming down, as he usually would under normal circumstances, Ryou just started crying harder. Leaving the two in an awkward and extremely embarrassing situation.  
  
In a distant part of Ryou's mind, he realized that this really was not the time to be breaking down. Especially when one considered who he was currently clinging onto (and not to mention being embraced by). He also realized, amazingly enough, that if there was one person he did not want involved with this situation… under the extreme delusion that the billionaire would care in the first place… it was Kaiba Seto.  
  
It wasn't that he thought Seto was a cruel person… but he was a bit cold.   
  
Well, 'a bit cold' was probably an understatement of the year. Ryou had discovered times where even the spirit of the Sennen Ring could be warmer than the teen whose shirt he was currently sobbing into. Perhaps it seemed like a stretch, but it was true. Seto just seemed so distant from everything around him, with the exception of his younger brother. He couldn't help but be vaguely surprised that Seto was even bothering to try and comfort him. It didn't really seem like something that the Seto he knew would do.  
**  
**Granted, he didn't know Seto very well so that probably wasn't saying much… but he did happen to remember the time when Seto had demanded the former pharaoh to attack him when he was bleeding….  
  
Memories like that just happened to stick out in one's mind. Especially when it involved the possibility of death or winding up like a vegetable for the rest of his life.  
  
Seto's features began to take on a rather desperate expression as Ryou sobbed against his chest. It was awkward enough that he had actually gone so far as to embrace Ryou, but now, it seemed that his action had actually encouraged the other's tears, which was absolutely the opposite of what Seto had wished to encourage.  
  
This clearly wasn't helping. Seto had no idea of what one was supposed to do under these circumstances to maintain detachment. Unfortunately, Ryou had now collapsed against him a bit, making it basically impossible for the brunette to gracefully extract himself from this situation without leaving Ryou in a puddle on the ground.   
  
To be honest, the awkwardness of the situation aside, it did not give Seto any pleasure at all to see the small, silver-haired boy so utterly distraught. In a vague way, it troubled him, if only because Ryou always seemed so fragile, as if his tenuous hold on happiness could break down at any moment and leave him like this. Perhaps it was just that Seto had always seen the possibility of this moment in the way the other often behaved, even if he didn't have the faintest notion of what the actual reason for Ryou's misery was.  
  
Seto sighed and gazed down at Ryou. There was only one other means he could think of to try in order to get Ryou to stop crying. He was going to have to talk... and then most likely listen to whatever this story was. If only Ryou would stop crying, then Seto would be more than happy to listen, because anything had to be better than this horribly awkward feeling that seemed to well up along with Ryou's tears. "Bakura... tell me, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Seto asked softly, trying to use as gentle a tone as he could possibly manage.

For one crazy moment, Bakura Ryou was under the impression that Kaiba Seto… Kaiba Seto… was speaking to him.

At least, he thought he heard the brunette speaking to him. He had heard a voice, and it seemed to make sense, but the entire notion of Seto actually speaking to him was a difficult one to grasp. He had expected, at  least, for the billionaire to let him drop him to the ground like an unwanted sack of rotted vegetables.

A small part of his mind wondered then about the hug. If that was the appropriate thing to call it, which it probably wasn't. But despite his knowledge of his classmate, Ryou couldn't help but feel that it really had been just that: a hug.

It was no wonder, really, that Ryou was utterly confused. And a confused Ryou never meant a happy Ryou, and an unhappy Ryou meant a Ryou that was liable to keep crying until he cried himself out.

Still… had Seto really been talking to him?

"Bakura?"

The voice was repeating his name… over and over again. And although there was a hint of annoyance and impatience, it was enough to jolt Ryou back to reality. Bitter, horrible reality that he would give anything to escape, but reality nevertheless.

"Kaiba-kun?" he asked hesitantly, as if still in utter disbelief of what was happening.

After having repeated his name several times, Seto really was beginning to believe that Ryou had completely lost it.  The crying wasn't stopping, nor did it seem as if he had any intention of responding to his words.  He seemed to be gazing at him blankly and just gaping for no apparent reason.  Seto was seriously considering slapping or shaking the silver-haired boy just to try and snap him out of it when Ryou finally chose to speak.  

Seto was highly relieved to hear that soft, shaky voice.  He chose to ignore the fact that Ryou seemed to be completely unaware of the fact that he'd asked him a question for the time being, because at the least, Ryou was talking.  While Seto was not entirely accustomed to talking to most of his classmates, and Ryou would surely fall into that category, at the least, he was far better equipped to handle that than he was to handle tears.  

"Bakura..." Seto repeated, keeping his voice gentle, as if anything too strong might force the tears to resume once more.  He gazed down at Ryou and forced a small, awkward smile onto his lips.  This, too, was meant to be reassuring, though given how uncomfortable he was feeling at the moment, it probably looked a little strange.  "Why were you crying?  Tell me what's wrong, Ryou..." 

***Flashback***

There was something wrong… it started as a hunch but as soon as Ryou saw Honda's face, he knew it for a fact.

"Bakura? We need to talk."

It was at that moment that Ryou knew what was happening. Knew completely and without any doubt whatsoever. And it wasn't as if it took a genius to figure out what that was… the use of his last name rather than his first? He understood immediately that something was about to change drastically.

He just didn't know why.

"Hi… Hon…." Ryou could only stutter around the name… which was one was he supposed to use now? Hiroto or Honda-kun? Neither seemed appropriate anymore… both just seemed wrong. One was too close and the other too formal.

Luckily for the sake of his quickly declining sanity, Honda interrupted him before he had a nervous breakdown.

"You know that I never wanted to hurt you.  I would never do anything deliberate to hurt you..." Honda said, glancing up to gaze into Ryou's eyes with an earnest expression, though he could hardly bear to look him in the eyes for more than a moment.  The tall brunette drew in a deep breath, focusing on the words that he'd gone over in his mind.  

Then he gazed down at his hands, anxiously staring at his interlocked fingers.  There was just no way he could look at Ryou and come out with it.  Even though telling Ryou right before class was definitely not a good way to go about doing things, given what had already happened the night before, Honda couldn't wait any longer.  At the least, they were on an empty side of the room.  Few students were there at all, though Otogi Ryuuji was one of the ones who were.  So, it was going to have to be done like this, out of fairness to Ryou.  

"It isn't you, Bakura... Before I say anything else, please just know that it isn't because you did anything wrong or because you're anything less than a wonderful person.  This is all my fault.  Onegai, don't blame yourself.  I know that's what you'll be prone to do..." Honda sighed and drew in one last deep breath before he forced the words out.  "I can't be with you any longer... I wish there were a better way to put this, and maybe I'm just too much of a baka to know the words for this that wouldn't hurt you so much.  I know that you deserve to hear the truth, though.  Now, before... well, before..." Honda let the words die in his throat.  He just couldn't quite manage to say that he was leaving Ryou for Ryuuji just yet.  It just felt too cruel to do so.  He let his gaze wander over to the raven-haired male, as if to remind himself for just a moment of why he had to do this.

Despite Honda's assurances that he would be alright, Ryuuji couldn't help but glance over at the two every once in a while. It was a natural thing, really… frankly, he was worried. And rightfully so, it seemed. Honda didn't seem to be doing too well, and neither did Ryou.

A pang of guilt flashed through him momentarily… but that was nothing new. The whole situation made him somewhat nauseous, even though it was something he wanted badly. Funny how things turned out… he finally got the person he loved, but at the price of another. 

During one of his glance-overs, he was shocked to see that Honda was looking right back into his eyes. And he was so shocked that he wasn't able to look away in time when Ryou chose to follow Honda's pleading glance. 

Ryou's eyes widened as he stared at the darker game inventor, who looked just as shocked as he was. But the guilt in those emerald green eyes quickly confirmed who it was that had ultimately caused Honda's decision.

"Bakura-kun…."

The apologetic words had barely escaped his lips before Ryou had pushed his seat back, gotten up, and walked out of the classroom without a reply.  

***End of Flashback***  
  



	4. The Devil's Trap

**Authors' Note:**  Hello!  Yes, it's another update!  We're actually quite proud of ourselves for being so consistent so far!  We had a ton of fun writing this chapter.  Well, heck, we always amuse each other.  And so much fun lies ahead!  Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed.  We really, really appreciate it.  Enjoy the chapter!

Marmalade Girl:  Thanks so much!  Don't worry, plenty of internal Ryou in this chapter and in what lies ahead, too.  Of course, we try to flesh out all four of them as we go, but this chapter in particular has a lot of Ryou.  *grins*  It's fun…

Shamanic Guardian Lena:  Well, don't worry, Seto will hug Ryou for you!  Oh, and if you think Seto's confusion in the last chapter was amusing, just wait until you read this one.  Thank you!

Lavender Sparkle:  Oh, don't worry, Honda will be getting himself into plenty of trouble soon enough.  *grins*  Fun things lie ahead.  Thanks so much for reading!

Ishizu Sango Halliwell:  Yes, poor Ryou.  At the very least, though, look for 'poor Ryou' to start--*covers mouth*  Well, just read the chapter and see!

Nalanzu:  So glad that you enjoyed Seto's willful self-delusion.  Don't worry, it will continue!  I mean, why else would he be comforting Ryou?  It isn't as though he might want to get into Ryou's p--*is rapidly silenced by Seto*  And to think, you could have been reading this right now, if only you didn't have to work.  Well, at the least, you can look forward to beta-ing chapter five, ne?  *glomps*

Wildwolf:  *laughs*  Honda probably could use a good mallet to the head a few times.  Oh, but he will get what's coming to him, I assure you.  That bad tendency of 'open mouth, insert foot' does not serve him well in the upcoming chapters.  And we will keep updating!  Lots of fun stuff ahead.  Thank you so much!

Moonchild:  Well, Honda won't get off too easily for too long.  *grins*  Wait and see…  Thanks so much for reading this!  More fun ahead!

chys lattes:  Thank you!  We definitely will write more soon!

**Disclaimer:** YGO belongs to the great and glorious Takahashi Kazuki. We bow to his greatness… *grin*

**_Chapter 4_**

****

**_The Devil's Trap_**

****

****

"And after that, I just went outside for awhile..." Ryou continued. "I don't know how long... and then... class... and seeing both of them..."   
  
As one might have expected, this wound was still too raw for Ryou to manage to tell the story without calling up new tears. His words faded away with a small, choked sound, and now, silent tears continued to trickle down his cheeks. Perhaps it was that Ryou hungered for more physical comfort, or perhaps it was that some part of Ryou just wanted to test whether or not Kaiba Seto was actually comforting him, but in that moment, Ryou simply leaned forward and once again buried his face against the lanky brunette's chest. He hadn't dropped him like a sack of vegetables thus far... so perhaps this would prove to Ryou whether or not he could actually trust in this comfort to be real. Somewhere inside, he desperately wanted to...  
  
Seto had seen the tears that were threatening to resume as Ryou told the story, and in honesty, a few had managed to escape him. Hence, he was almost prepared for Ryou to once again cry in his arms. Absently, Seto embraced the silver-haired boy, doing so far less awkwardly this time, now that his mind was occupied with other thoughts.   
  
Seto could scarcely believe what Ryou was telling him. He'd noticed that there was something going on between him and Honda, but he most certainly hadn't anticipated that it would end like this. _Honda always seemed to be so protective of him... I would never have thought him the type... I mean, Otogi is attractive enough, I suppose... but then, so is Bakura... And why would he suddenly leave one for the other...? Unless... _Seto frowned at the thought. He could think of one thing that Ryuuji was likely to offer Honda that Ryou quite possibly was not.   
  
It was in that moment that the willowy brunette became all too aware of the fact that he was currently still holding Ryou, and holding him rather tightly, at that. Seto drew back, feeling rather uncomfortable. After all, now Ryou had made this revelation to him, of all people. Seto didn't exactly know what to say... Comforting others was not exactly his thing. "Bakura... I'm sorry that Honda hurt you like that," he said after a long silence. Perhaps the words weren't terribly original, but at the least, they were sincere, and Seto thought that they seemed appropriate. Seto studied the other's features, blue eyes rather intent, as he watched Ryou react.

"Why?"

The question was so softly asked that Seto nearly missed it, but Ryou wasn't even looking at him as he asked it. The white-haired teen didn't even seem to know that he was asking the question, especially since he was staring blankly at the wall opposite the two.

"Why?" Seto couldn't help but echo, his eyebrow raising as he stared at Ryou. What an odd question… especially since he was taking such efforts to be civil. He couldn't help but be slightly annoyed by the complete rejection of his attempts at comfort, especially from Bakura Ryou. 

Why did it matter so much that it was Ryou, a part of him wondered. If it was somebody else, would he have cared as much?

Somehow, he doubted that.

Ryou was looking at him now, his brown eyes somewhat confused at everything that was going on. He couldn't figure out why any of this was happening… any of it. In the span of about six hours, everything that he had come to rely on seemed to be unraveling before his eyes. People no longer were who they used to be, and he felt so lost and confused. 

He also felt very ugly.

Not ugly in the physical sense of the word, but when describing his personality. A part of him wondered if maybe… maybe he should be happy for Honda and Ryuuji. After all, they were still his friends, right? And he should be pleased that they were together… even if it meant leaving him out of the equation. That was what friends were supposed to do, wasn't it? That was what he had been raised to think… to act.  But if everything was supposed to be bright and sunny, why was any of this happening in the first place?

"Why do you care?"

The words… they really weren't supposed to come out that way. Ryou would have given an arm and leg to rush back in time, grab those words before they could escape, and stuff them in his mouth like a pair of dirty socks. But since reality is rarely that accommodating, what ended up happening was that the words were out, and there was quite honestly nothing he could do to take them back.

That was a rather dangerous question to lay before Kaiba Seto, particularly under these circumstances.  After all, Ryou hadn't given Seto much choice in this matter, as he'd fallen against the brunette and burst into tears without any prompting whatsoever, save the initial accidental collision.  Under most circumstances, Seto might very well be expected to coldly ask Ryou why he assumed that he did care, and thus avoid answering the question altogether.  

Fortunately for Ryou, these circumstances were different.  Seto was bound and determined to do whatever he could to keep Ryou from bursting into tears again, and it was clear to him that a few harsh words might be enough to do just that.  Seto was avoiding thinking about how fragile Ryou seemed at the moment, in fact studiously focusing on avoiding thinking that if he didn't offer the silver-haired boy a little bit of comfort now, the one before him might shatter further, because that would imply that he did indeed care.  Possibly cared a little too much.  And that would leave Seto neatly back at Ryou's question all over again.

"Why do I care...?" Seto repeated softly.  He wore a faint frown as he tried to summon up a logical response to so impossible a question.  Eventually, an answer came to him.  "I care, because I don't think that what they did to you was right," Seto said slowly.  "You all are supposedly friends and all supposedly nice people, and yet, they turn around and do this to you.  Not to mention, do this to you in just about the most painful manner possible, breaking it to you like that at the beginning of the day with Otogi there looking on.  Is it any wonder to you now that I do my best to avoid this type of interaction, particularly where Yuugi-tachi is concerned?  I mean, suppose that it had been me who had done this to someone... people would just think that I was living up to my reputation as a cold-hearted bastard.  With someone like me, you could see it coming.  With Honda... how could you possibly?  I just don't think that's right.  And Otogi?  He did this to you without a second thought... maybe it just doesn't seem fair to me that they would leave you on the outside with nothing."  Seto was speaking quite volubly, which was certainly unlike him.  He trying to give Ryou all the answer that he required so that he wouldn't ask such an uncomfortable question again.  And the words came surprisingly easily to him because they happened to be true... Seto _didn't_ think that this was a fair thing to do. 

Ryou, in the meanwhile, could only stare at Seto with complete astonishment in his eyes. Hearing Seto's explanation… he wished that he had never asked for it in the first place and especially that the two had never had the opportunity to even speak to each other. 

"No… that's not… not true!" he nearly yelled, startling both Seto and himself. It was hard to tell who was more startled, in fact.

He wasn't that surprised when the tall brunette declined to reply, instead raising an eyebrow, as if inviting him to explain his outburst. Which he didn't really want to, to be truthful, if only because he didn't know why he was acting this way. Didn't know why he was defending Honda and Ryuuji, or how anyone could.

The thoughts going through Ryou's mind greatly resembled the idea of an angel one shoulder and a devil on the other. The angel part… the one that wore a halo and was always good and obedient… thought that it was definitely wrong that Seto was talking about his friends like this. After all, despite everything that had happened, they were still his friends… weren't they?

The devil half, an angry looking fellow that greatly resembled Yami no Bakura, shot back that if they were his friends, they wouldn't have done this. Besides, why should it be his problem anyway? It wasn't as if he owed them anything. He had a right to think about himself, after all. The world wasn't about making sure everybody else was okay. It was about he, himself, and him. 

"Isn't it?" Seto's cool voice suddenly swept over him, and he shivered from the coldness radiating from the brunette. It was as if somebody had thrown a bucket of cold water over him, waking him from a pleasant dream and dropping him into a less than friendly reality. 

"I… iya," his voice faltered slightly as he spoke the single word, but he tried to remain firm. "They're my friends, Kaiba-kun. I… I would rather you not be talking about them like that."

The devil snorted and rolled his eyes while the angel smiled and nodded approvingly. Ryou tried to ignore both of them.

"But what I said was right, wasn't it?"

Ryou bit his lip as he fought the urge to just start screaming. At least it would block out everything else, and he wouldn't have to wonder about this anymore.

"No, it isn't, Kaiba-kun."

Seto quirked a brow again and gave Ryou a look of intense scrutiny for a long moment, causing him to shift uncomfortably beneath his gaze.  "Hm," he murmured after a long time, the faintest hint of a smirk on his lips.  "Even you don't really believe that I'm wrong.  Deep down inside, you know that what they did to you was unfair, even if you won't admit it to yourself.  I think that if you give it more thought, you'll realize it.  You'll realize that even if you can't help being hurt right now, you should be angry about this, too.  Even if this is one of the reasons people think me harsh, I'm not one to shy away from the truth.  You need to see it, too, Bakura, even if it upsets you, because to be honest with you, I don't think you should just roll over and take it.  It isn't right," Seto added stubbornly, before he began to present his case.  

"You know that they're both expecting you to turn around and forgive them.  No consequences, no trouble from quiet, sweet Bakura Ryou.  Oh, sure, you'll be very sad for a few days, in your quiet unassuming fashion.  Maybe even give them a few pangs of guilt.  Of course, guilt wasn't much of a deterrent in the first place, so maybe not.  Anyway, you'll eventually get less sad, at least, less apparently sad to the point where they can tell themselves that you're over it. And you'll forgive them, or tell them you forgive them, and then their consciences will ease, and the whole thing will be forgotten.  It will be like you were never even involved with Honda at all, just so that all of you can go out together whenever necessary without too much discomfort.  And then, there you'll be, alone and miserable, in the midst of people who all are happy and over it.  It will be then that you begin to realize that somewhere underneath it all, you're rather angry.  You'll see that you don't really like the fact that they did what they did and got away with it without much trouble at all, but since you're Bakura Ryou, you'll just let it eat you alive inwardly without saying a word, unless one day it gets to be too much and you just explode.  I doubt that, though."

Seto paused and drew in a deep breath, before catching Ryou's eye and gazing at him in serious fashion.  "That's why... I think that you shouldn't just let this go.  Instead of doing what you think is right or best for everyone or whatever it is that you usually do, you should do what is best for you, instead.  Getting even a little bit would only be fair, I think..."  

Ryou shook his head desperately, but inside, he was starting to open up to Seto's words. Even though everything the brunette was saying went against what Ryou had believed for so long, a part of him wanted to agree. 

He quickly put down that thought… agree with Seto about such horrible things? What was he thinking?! There was no way he could agree with anything that Seto had just said. Especially since it was just wrong. His friends… and that included Honda and Ryuuji, despite everything that had just happened… didn't deserve to have those things being said about them. 

The devil scowled again as the angel nodded primly. In the back of the devil's mind, he wondered how nice it would feel to give the angel a kick in the ass.  

But… although Ryou wanted to dismiss everything that had just been said, he really couldn't. Seto had valid points, and something within him was holding onto that knowledge stubbornly. He wondered, vaguely, how Seto could possibly know him this well. And he realized that the question was simply his way of trying to avoid the inevitable. 

The point… the point was that he couldn't ignore what Seto had brought up before him. And because he could not ignore it, he could not prove any of what Seto had said wrong.    

But how could Seto be right? All those things he had said… they sounded so cruel and nasty. Yet despite that, they were too reasonable simply to be ignored.

And if what Seto had said was right, wouldn't that imply that he was also right in saying that Ryou should try to get even? 

As he contemplated those thoughts, the angel couldn't help but jump up and down in fear of what was about to happen. _No, no! Don't even think such nasty thoughts, they aren't right! Just walk away from this mess, Ryou… walk away. Kaiba Seto is just messing with your mind, and you shouldn't listen to him at all. _

The devil rolled his eyes and realized that he was going to be sick if he didn't do something very soon. So it was to be of no surprise to anyone (except perhaps the angel), when the before-mentioned angel suddenly found himself tied and gagged. 

He was not, to say the least, very pleased with that situation.

That was of no concern to the devil, who was now free to do whatever he pleased.        

_And it's about time…_

"Bakura?"  
  
Ryou started a bit, shaken out of his internal conflict by the brunette's voice. It was only at this point that he realized that Seto had been staring at him expectantly for a long moment, awaiting some response. "Anou... do you really think that getting even is the right thing to do, Kaiba-kun?" Ryou asked, gazing up at him with wide, chocolate-hued eyes. 

After all, bedeviled or not, Ryou was still himself. Not to mention that the devil was somehow already certain that Seto would consistently side with him in this, thereby putting a knife in the last of Ryou's doubts. At least, he sincerely hoped so. And perhaps, just perhaps, Seto could do more than just advise Ryou...  
  
_He's listening to me... I think that I finally got through to him, _Seto thought. For some reason, he wanted to see Ryou stand up for himself. And no matter how many times Seto told himself that he only wanted to see Honda and Ryuuji get what was coming to them out of a sense of righteousness alone, he somehow couldn't shake the feeling that seeing Ryou prove them wrong would give him a deep sense of satisfaction. Seto nodded in response to Ryou's words. "If there's any part of you that wants to do so, then it is the right thing to do. Standing up for yourself and acting on your own feelings without worrying about anyone else's opinion is the best thing that you can do, especially in this situation. Just for a minute, Bakura, think about what it is that you really want. Honda and Otogi hurt you. What response to that would make you feel the best? You just need to figure out what that is and then make it happen. No regrets, no what if's, just like what they did to you in the first place. You didn't start this. So, don't blame yourself for having the feelings that I know you must be having somewhere inside. Just do what would make you feel best..." Seto urged again, having no idea what exactly Ryou's mind would settle on. Had he known that, he might well have kept his mouth shut.

As all this was going on, the devil was scheming. And to put it simply, the devil scheming was never a good thing for all parties involved.  It wondered deviously (admittedly, there is no other way for a devil to scheme) how Kaiba Seto would feel if he had to eat his own words.  
  
Although one may have the misconception that the devil was as evil as Yami no Bakura, that simply wasn't true. For example, if it had been Yami no Bakura, Seto might never have become involved in the whole mess. After all, Yami no Bakura didn't care what people said about him or his friends, of which there were decidedly few… if any.   
**  
**Thus, even though the devil was bad, it was still Ryou. And Ryou was simply not the type of person who would let people insult his friends, even if they deserved it.  Even if he was having problems figuring out if they really were his friends.   
**  
**The devil smiled as he patted himself on the back. If everything went according to plan, it would mean that not only would Ryou be getting back at Honda and Ryuuji, but at Seto, as well. After all, despite what Honda and Ryuuji had done to him, deep down, Ryou didn't really like the fact that Seto was talking about them that way.   
**  
**So what could be better than solving both problems at the same time?  
  
"Thank you, Kaiba-kun, for your suggestion." Ryou's voice was quiet as he expressed his somewhat confused appreciation for Seto's words. "Demo, would you mind if I asked you for another favor?"  
  
"No," Seto replied easily. He was still somewhat surprised that his words had gotten through to the shy teenager, but he wasn't about to argue.   
**  
**Inside Ryou, the little devil cackled deviously as he swished his tail. The angel was no longer struggling against his bonds, instead watching the scene in trepid fascination. No longer did he wonder if a great miracle would happen to stop the course of fate; now, he could only hope that whatever happened, it was for the best.   
**  
**And Seto, who of course had no idea of what he had just gotten himself into, heard somebody scream a vile word when Ryou told him exactly what kind of favor he was requesting.

Clearly, beneath the quiet and gentle exterior, there was more to Bakura Ryou than met the eye.  Seto hadn't had any idea that under that angelic exterior, there was such a devilish ability to scheme.  Of course, it had started out, as all of the best traps do, innocently enough.

"Anou... I should do what makes me feel best, ne, Kaiba-kun?" Ryou began, gazing up at him, as if seeking reassurance.  Seto had nodded silently, almost encouraging the other to go on.  "I suppose... that what would make me feel better is to just know once and for all that this is for the best... or for Honda-kun to see that he made a mistake and regret it.  I don't know what would happen if he did regret his choice... I don't know if I could go back to him... demo, at least then, I wouldn't feel so... unwanted..." Ryou added meekly, sighing at the word.

Seto nodded again.  "That makes sense... demo, I don't quite understand how you mean to accomplish this..."

Ryou flashed Seto a bright little smile.  "I had an idea.  I think it actually might just do both of those things.  You see, if Honda-kun saw that I'd moved on, then he'd get jealous if he still had any feelings for me.  And if he got jealous enough, then he'd try and do something about it.  If he didn't care at all, then I'd know that I could have never competed with Otogi-kun, and I could have some closure.  Either way, I think it would make me feel better..."

Seto frowned a bit.  " 'Moved on'?  As in... with someone else...?"  He suddenly didn't like where this was going.  

Ryou slowly nodded, gazing up at Seto with was decidedly one of his better sweet, pleading expressions.  "Hai.  There's only one small problem... I need there to be a someone else... and it would be even better if it were someone Honda-kun didn't exactly view as trustworthy... someone like... you..." Ryou admitted in a small voice.  Devil or no devil, he was a bit worried about how Seto was going to react to that request.

"Nani?!"  Seto's blue eyes widened in surprised fashion, and he gazed down at Ryou with an intense look.  He'd guessed that Ryou might want his help in finding someone... or something... but this...  "You want me to be with you so that you can make Honda jealous?!" Seto asked, his voice rising a bit.  

"Hai," Ryou said quietly, gazing down at his feet in embarrassed fashion.  He could do this.  Seto hadn't actually walked out yet, after all... he could remind him of his words and talk him into this.  And then he'd for once show everyone else, too...  "I don't think I could explain this to anyone else, Kaiba-kun.  It would be too hard.  And you'd only have to pretend with me for as long as it took for me to feel better about the whole situation.  It couldn't be more than a few weeks..."

Seto's eyes widened once again, if that were even possible, and he quickly shook his head.  "Iie, Bakura.  It's a bad idea... you know that I'm not the type for that sort of a thing.  I hardly have time to even show up at school, and how demonstrative do you really think I'm capable of being?  If you wanted to make Honda jealous, I'm certain that there's a better person for it than me.  I could find someone for you.  Even hire an actor... something... I'm sure that I could.  It's a fine plan, demo, I'm just not the right person for it... So, just let me find someone better for you, okay?"

Ryou gazed up at Seto with the saddest look in his chocolate-hued eyes, even sniffling a bit (which he actually did for effect this time--it seemed that the devil was quite an actor).  The odd thing was that nearly all of the arguments that he'd used before and the ones that he was about to use were completely true.  Ryou just never would have said them, had he not been taking a slightly more assertive approach than usual.  

"Kaiba-kun.." he began quietly.  "I don't want an actor.  I wouldn't feel remotely comfortable like that.  And how could I possibly explain to Honda-kun how I had even met that person?  I don't think it would be quite as convincing... and it would be so embarrassing.  I really don't want anyone else to know about it.  You and I could just pretend to break up at the end.  No one would ever even have to know... And the fact that you're usually so busy and detached would only make it all the more convincing if you suddenly weren't that way with me.  Not to mention that a lot of people in this school seem to have crushes on you...  You're the perfect person to make Honda-kun jealous.  I know that he wouldn't like the idea of you and I being together... onegai... Kaiba-kun.  You told me to do what would make me feel best.  This is what would make me feel best.  Onegai... just for a little while..." Ryou added pleadingly, before his tears started to well up again.  It wasn't entirely by artifice, either.  If Ryou failed in this, he'd be even more miserable than he had been before.  With that, he simply buried his head against Seto's chest, making softly muffled pleas a few times before he once again began sobbing in earnest.

Of course, the fact that Ryou made good arguments helped.  The truth was, though, that those tears were something of a weakness of Seto's--at least, he couldn't stand to have Ryou sobbing up against him any longer.  Even if Ryou didn't know that his tears were the one thing that would ultimately win Seto over, the fact remained that they were .  For a few moments, Seto silently pondered all of his other options, trying to think of any other way out of this that would also stop Ryou's tears.  Nothing came to him.  After all that he'd said about it being a good idea for Ryou to stand up for himself... and after all of the good reasons Ryou had offered for wanting Seto to be the one that he pretended to be involved with, the brunette could think of no way out.  Finally, after several sob-filled seconds had passed, Seto wrapped his arms around Ryou's slender frame loosely.  "Okay, Ryou.  I'll do it..." he whispered soothingly.   


	5. It Begins

**Authors' Note:**  Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed.  This chapter is a bit on the short side, but the scene break just fell into that place.  So, look for another chapter in a few days, because that's when we're planning to put another one up, just so everyone is nice and satisfied.  Thank you all!

****

Shamanic Guardian Lena:  Thanks so much!  Even the sweetest person has to have one or two bad impulses every now and then, ne?  Our title, translated, means "Bounce".  We probably should have said that sooner.

fani90:  And you'll have an update or two waiting for you!  Thanks so much!  So glad that you're enjoying it!

angelbird1224:  So glad that you think so!  We have a lot of fun stuff coming up.  And look for another update very soon!

The Evil Laugh:  Yes, we're all a little concerned for Ryou's mental health.  Hehehe… Really, it's mostly just a metaphor, but we found it very amusing.  We will definitely keep updating!  Thanks!

****

****

****

****

****

**_Chapter 5_**

****

**_It Begins_**

Ryou had given some thought as to what the best way to get the strongest reaction out of Honda would be. It actually felt good to be doing something, setting his mind to taking action for once, rather than just vanishing into the background. Seto had been right about that. In the end, he'd decided, in rather sly fashion, it must be admitted, that the best way to show off his new 'relationship' to Honda was to stick it right into the middle of one of Honda's dates with Ryuuji. That had taken some doing... after all, the others had all been treating Ryou with excessive concern for his fragility after the break-up. It was just lucky for Ryou that Anzu had a big mouth... 

It was, to put it mildly, quite surprising that Anzu had been the one to provide Ryou with this succulent piece of information.  Mazaki Anzu, the self-proclaimed peacemaker, who would be utterly shocked to discover what sweet, innocent Ryou planned to do with the information that she had inadvertently provided him with.  
  


The devil was in a perpetual state of ecstasy, especially since, for the first time in a very, very long time, he was being given the freedom to do what he wanted to do.  The annoying angel, who was still tied up (and not to mention stuffed in something resembling a bank vault), was no longer able to interfere in its cunning plans.  
  


Seto, who was still hoping (secretly, of course), that Ryou would come to his senses, was in a constant state of distress.  Although he could privately admit that he had, in a way, brought this all upon himself, it did nothing to relieve his extreme annoyance at his forced involvement into this whole mess.  Truly, he did feel sorry for Ryou and was quite angry at Honda and Ryuuji for hurting him like this.  But, at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that this was really not his problem, and that he had been extremely   
foolish in letting himself get involved in such petty matters.  
  


But then… he sneaked a look at his white-haired 'boyfriend', who was looking straight ahead at the street as he drove them towards the restaurant where Honda and Ryuuji were going.  Was Ryou really just a 'petty matter'?  If he was, why had he ever allowed himself to interfere?  
  


He chose not to answer that, and continued to drive.  But continuously, he stole glances at the white-haired teen and wasn't sure whether or not he should be surprised to see the blush crawling up the pale cheeks.  On one hand, Ryou had been acting very out of character when he had revealed his plan, so it was surprising that he should be so shy. But on the other hand, Ryou was simply a shy person.  He was, simply put, innocent. People often thought of Yuugi as innocent, but that was definitely not true.  After all,   
how many innocent people ran around watching porn?  
  


There was a little bit of guilt nibbling away at his conscience.  He wasn't sure why he would feel guilty; he just did. So what if Ryou was innocent?  He was the one who had asked for this, after all.  Seto didn't see why he should feel guilty… feel like he was somehow taking something very important (and perhaps endearing) from him.  
  


Ryou, despite the presence of a very enthusiastic devil, was nervous about confronting Honda and Ryuuji, despite all his preparation for the event.  Part of him… part of him just wanted to beg Seto to turn back and pretend that none of this had ever happened.  And that part of him kept growing with each passing second, until it was so large that it was threatening to consume him whole and spit out the bones and hair.  
  


Kind of like how the shadow monster had eaten him (or, to be more precise, Yami no Bakura, but it was still his body)….  
  


Honestly, he shouldn't be doing this. He just wasn't this type of person… the sneaky, conniving person who lived his life by the law of 'an eye for an eye'.  
  


Just because Honda had hurt him didn't justify him hurting Honda, did it?  
  


However, before he could continue along that train of thought, Seto's voice jolted him out of his deep, dark thoughts.  
  


"We're here."  
  


For a moment, Ryou did not answer… and Seto felt his heart leap.  Perhaps Ryou had come to his senses!  Perhaps he could still get out of this!  
  


Perhaps….  
  


Ryou took in a deep breath as he calmed his nerves.  He could do this, he told himself sternly. He could do this.

The talking to himself should have been a sign that he was stressed and was quite capable of not being able to do 'this', but he chose to ignore that concept as he continued to repeat the mantra in his head over and over again.  
  


"Ryou?"  
  


He jerked as he snapped his head around to stare at Seto with wide eyes.  It was obvious that he wasn't really ready for this, even though he was trying so hard to be.  His cheeks were flaring again as he tried to stammer something that sounded coherent.  What escaped from his lips, instead, was a sound that was a cross between a wail and a high-pitched squawk.  
  


Certainly not the most attractive of sounds, and it had to be Kaiba Seto of all people who witnessed such an embarrassing spectacle.  
  


"… boku… boku wa…" his mind seemed to freeze on that word as he tried to   
figure out what to say next.  
  


Absolutely nothing came to mind.

The devil snarled as he played with his tail.  This was not going as he had wanted it to, and he couldn't help but be slightly worried that his host would mess everything up. That really wouldn't do, and he wasn't about to let all his hard work go to waste.  
  


Just when Ryou was about to lose all his nerve, Seto did a most surprising thing.  It was so surprising that it surprised himself, along with everyone else.

As gently as he could, Seto reached out and took Ryou's hand.  Shocked brown eyes looked up to stare at his blue eyes in wonder, and for a moment there was nothing but silence, as both people tried to figure out exactly what was going on.  
  


"Do you want this?" the billionaire finally asked.  
  


Ryou blinked as the question echoed in his mind.

_Do you want this?_   
  


Before he could think it through properly, he found himself replying.

"Yes."

And the devil hummed along to the rhythm tic thumps of the angel banging his head against the vault door.

It was only as they got out of the car and walked into the restaurant that Ryou realized something strange: Seto's presence at the moment was remotely comforting. He'd never considered it the slightest bit possible that someone so disconcerting, someone who could reduce a person to a quivering mess with little more than a glare and a few words could ever help him get a hold of himself at all. And yet, here he was, walking into the restaurant with only the slightest tremble in his knees. Odd.  
  
As they walked inside, Seto drew Ryou over to one side before they reached the maitre d'. "So, here we are. Have you thought about where we want to be seated with respect to them? Just how quickly do you want them to see us, Ryou?"  
  
Ryou gazed up at Seto, flushing a bit and looking blank. As carefully as he'd planned out where they were eating and getting Seto to accompany him there, he hadn't given any thought at all to where they'd sit. He assumed that they'd just go along and sit wherever the waiter led them. Apparently, Seto had something else in mind...  
  
Seto gave a faint nod of his head, as if inwardly affirming that Ryou hadn't formed any sort of plan. "I'll handle it, then," he said quickly, guiding them up to stand before the maitre d'. He quickly gave his name, which naturally had a reservation listed. Next, in a gesture that was so smooth that Ryou almost missed the exchange of some amount of money, Seto shook the man's hand and began to make a request that left Ryou regarding him strangely and blushing all at once.  
  
"I would like for you to seat us a few tables away from a certain party that is already present. There's an effeminate-looking male with long black hair and flamboyant dress and he's with a brunette with hair that is sharp enough to cause permanent eye injury," Seto said matter-of-factly.  
  
The man before them simply nodded. "Right away, sir." With that, he quickly gave a hostess instructions, and in no time, they were turned over that hostess, who began leading them to a table.   
  
"That wasn't very nice," were the first words out of Ryou's mouth.  
  
Seto didn't respond, and Ryou didn't push for an answer. Whether this was because he didn't even want an answer or because he was too shy to ask for one, it was not certain... but the point was that he didn't ask for one. Instead, he didn't do anything except follow Seto to where ever the hostess was leading them to, and although part of him protested, the rest of him didn't do anything in response.   
**  
**_For someone who is trying to stand up for himself, yadonushi, you certainly don't do a very good job at it,_ Yami no Bakura commented from the back of his mind.  
  
_It's not my fault.   
_**  
**_Whose fault is it, then?  
  
_Ryou didn't have a chance to respond because he was too busy bumping into Seto, in the process hitting his nose. The brunette had abruptly stopped (at least, that's what it seemed like to Ryou), and since the white-haired teen had not been paying attention, he had ended up walking right into Seto's back. It was a rather embarrassing situation, to put it mildly, especially since the reason why Seto had stopped was because they had arrived at their 'destination'.   
  



	6. Action

**Authors' Note:**  Well, here is the speedy update!  Now Nalan-san can cease to make threats?  Onegai?  Well, probably not… considering how this chapter ends.  *grins*  Fear not!  We have more in the works!  Oh, and our new fic, "Sprayed," is up, as well.  Enjoy!

****

Shamanic Guardian Lena:  Hee!  I don't think we're very remorseful over the angel's situation, either.  But not everyone is as unsympathetic as we are.  Thanks so much for the review!  We'll keep writing!

The Evil Laugh:  Yup, new chapter this week!  And in the middle of the week no less!  Well, don't expect us to relent on the angel any too soon, though we're not sure that the devil will be any happer.  After all, the angel had years of ruling over Ryou.  It's only fair that the devil get a wee chance.  Thank you!

Nalanzu:  Don't hurt us!  It's updated!  No need to strangle really!  Uh, just don't read the last paragraph, and I'm sure that you'll be fine.  *innoncent smile*  Thanks for letting us know what you think!

****

****

****

****

****

**_Chapter 6_**

****

**_Action_**

Ryuuji didn't quite remember how it had happened, but apparently he had been talking to Honda when some disease had taken over Honda's mind and caused him to go into something that resembled seizures and convulsions. It didn't take a genius to figure out that there was something behind him that was stressing out his koi, and when he turned around, he was surprised to find himself staring into Kaiba Seto's icy blue eyes. This in itself did nothing but confuse Ryuuji more, since why would Honda be acting this way from seeing Seto?  Last he heard, there wasn't anything going on between the two that he should know about... so what was the problem with the billionaire's presence?   
**  
**And then Seto turned to speak to someone behind him, and Ryuuji realized exactly what the problem was.

Honda could not believe what he was seeing. In the middle of a perfectly nice date with Ryuuji, one of the most uncomfortable and bizarre things imaginable had practically been seated in his lap. Okay, perhaps it wasn't quite that close, but it nearly felt that way to Honda. It would have been weird enough to have Ryou show up anywhere in the vicinity while he was out with Ryuuji--the break-up was far too recent for that to be remotely comfortable. That alone would have been enough to make Honda feel quite guilty and awkward.   
  
Now, however, there was the added strangeness of seeing Ryou, sweet, shy, I'd-never-ask-anyone-out-myself Ryou, sitting down only a few tables away from them on what appeared to be a date of his own. Honda hadn't really given it much thought, but somewhere inside it appeared that he'd been of the opinion that Ryou wouldn't move on after their break-up for quite some time. Not only was this a little blow to his ego, but it also made him the slightest bit of something that felt all too similar to jealousy.  
  
And then, on top of all of those feelings, there was the person he was with: Kaiba Seto. _How in the hell does such a thing happen? _Honda wondered, his eyes narrowing a bit. _I'll bet he's trying to take advantage of Ryou now that he's hurting... that must be it, _Honda decided, watching the scene behind Ryuuji play out.   
  
Honda watched Seto slide Ryou's chair out for him. It was at that moment that the billionaire turned towards Honda and Ryuuji for just a moment. Seto caught Honda's gaze and gave him a smug, knowing little smirk. And then Honda watched the CEO's features go back to normal as he walked around the table and sat down across from Ryou. His hazel eyes widened with surprise as he saw Seto actually smile at Ryou and speak to him in a voice that was too low to be overheard. "That bastard," Honda said in a low growl. "I wish I could hear what he's saying to Ryou..."

Ryuuji didn't bother to reply. He was a bit too busy staring at Seto and Ryou to even hear Honda's angry words.  


To be frank, he wasn't sure what he should be thinking at the moment.  Should he be annoyed, perhaps even jealous, that Honda was staring at the other couple hard enough to burn holes through their backs?  


Well, he thought to himself, it didn't matter what he was supposed to be doing. Because frankly, he was jealous of the way that his lover was staring at a former… *former*… boyfriend.  


*****

"They're staring at us," Ryou mumbled, barely loud enough for Seto to hear him as the brunette glanced casually at the menu.  


"Isn't that the point?" he replied simply as he looked up at Ryou long enough to acknowledge his presence before returning to the matter at hand.  The very important matter at hand.  


Did he want fish or shrimp in his curry?  


"Yes, but…." Ryou blushed as his voice trailed off. Yes, that was precisely what they were supposed to be doing. And shouldn't he be delighted, especially when one considered how angry Honda looked. Well, angry was probably an understatement. He looked as if he had been attacked by a malicious, green-eyed imp known more commonly to mortals as jealousy. So why wasn't he pleased that his plan was actually working, and so well at that?  


"But nothing," Seto interrupted. Although his tone was rather sharp, his eyes were quite gentle as he put down the menu. "It's going just as you planned, Bakura. There really isn't anything to be worrying about."  


"Okay…" Ryou mumbled as he finally stopped fiddling with his menu and finally began to read it. Still, the characters just seemed to blend together, and shaking his head repeatedly to clear his eyes didn't really seem to be helping. It was almost as if the menu was mocking him… and it was not something that boded well with the white-haired teen. He already had enough things mocking him, thank you very much, and he didn't need an   
inanimate object to join in the fun.

For a few moments, Seto simply contemplated the menu in silence, before he glanced up for a moment to see if Ryou was anywhere near ready to order. What he saw brought a faint frown to his lips. Ryou was somehow managing to look uncomfortable, nervous, guilty, and a bit confused all at once.  
  
The way he kept shaking his head and staring at the menu blankly surely wasn't helping their cause, either. _If Ryou keeps this up much longer, given the fact that we _are_ being stared at, one of them will start to figure this out. I know that I'd start to get suspicious if I were one of them... The next time that we go out like this, I'll have to be sure that we're seated a little farther away from them.  I suppose that it's up to me to snap Ryou out of this... _Seto thought, sighing faintly.   
  
Then he paused, wondering for a moment why he even cared whether or not this enterprise of theirs was successful, especially since he'd been dragged in less than willingly in the first place. _The sooner that Ryou gets what he wants out of this, the sooner I'm through with this charade. That's all... _Seto told himself firmly.   
  
That didn't quite explain the concern that glimmered in his blue eyes as Seto gazed over at Ryou, catching one of the other's hands in his and drawing it away from the menu. He forced a smile as he gazed intently at the other. "Bakura... it's going to be fine. Just forget about them and try to have fun. Obviously, you're not very good at acting happy when you aren't. So, despite the fact that you are currently on what appears to be a date with Kaiba Seto, you're just going to have to try and enjoy yourself," Seto said, an unexpected note of humor lilting in his voice for the moment. "I suppose that I really should be calling you Ryou now, ne? After all, you're sure to blush quite a bit until you get used to that, unless I'm mistaken..." 

Ryou didn't answer, although the expression on his face seemed to suggest that Seto was not really human at all, but a scary alien who had dropped out of a spaceship only seconds before. After all, it was rare for the brunette to express any humor at all… and in the time that Ryou had known him, he had rarely seen Seto smile for any reason beyond Mokuba and dueling. So, it really was of no surprise that Ryou should react in such a manner from the concept of Seto developing a sense of humor.   
**  
**He wondered, vaguely, how Seto felt about this.  
  
It was an odd thought to have at such a time, but he couldn't help but wonder if Seto knew of his reputation and if it ever affected him. Did he care that people thought of him as a cold-hearted man who seemed to have no life beyond his company, brother, and duels? Did it hurt him to see Ryou reacting in such a manner?  
  
"Ryou?"  
  
As expected, a blush immediately made its way onto his face. Since it was rare for him to see his parents, the only person who had ever called him Ryou was… well, Honda.  
  
And now Seto.  
**  
**But it wasn't real. He didn't exactly love Seto, and he was quite sure that Seto didn't love him. No, this was nothing more than a complicated ploy to get a reaction out of Honda. And it was difficult for him to accept that somebody who was simply doing him a favor to get rid of him was calling him by his first name.   
**  
**Just as Honda had done… except Honda didn't care for him like that anymore. Seto did… well, pretended to, at least.  
  
Was it any wonder that he was feeling a little bit less than comfortable?  
  
Then, almost a few moments too late, he realized that Seto had spoken to him and that he needed to respond before the end of the century.  
  
"Yes, Kai… um… Seto?"  
  
"We don't have to do this right now." Regardless of his want of this to end right now, Seto knew that he couldn't push Ryou unless he wanted even more trouble than he already had. And that was really the last thing he wanted right now.  "Do you want to leave?"  
  
Ryou winced from the question. Even though he wanted to take the offer very much, he knew that he wouldn't. After all the trouble he had put Seto through… only to run away? He couldn't do that… it wasn't fair. It wasn't _right._

Seto gazed at Ryou intently, assessing his will to go or to stay carefully when the white-haired male across the table fell silent. "It's all up to you. Just tell me what you want to do..." Seto said gently, slowly drawing Ryou's hand up to his lips and brushing a ghost of a kiss over it before he let it go. If they were going to be leaving now, then he was at least going to do his best to give Honda and Ryuuji a few lingering doubts about why exactly they were making such a hurried exit. And besides, Seto found Ryou's blushes rather attractive. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, of course.   
  
Naturally, when that completely unexpected kiss was brushed against his hand, Ryou's blush had deepened into something that could scarcely be properly referred to as a blush. His face had flushed bright red, and his cheeks were practically burning. Perhaps even more embarrassing to Ryou than the fact that it had happened in the first place... was the realization that it felt good... Ryou tried to shake off such thoughts, sputtering incoherently as he strained to remember why he was attempting to speak in the first place.   
  
"Stay or go, Ryou...?" Seto asked quietly, drawing Ryou back from his thoughts.  
  
"S-Stay..." Ryou finally managed, gazing down at his hand as if a completely new extension of his arm had suddenly formed there. The way the skin tingled, he rather expected it to be pink, at a minimum, but his skin was still the same pale hue that it always was. Once his contemplation of the strange sensation was complete (or at least, once Ryou realized how inappropriate it was to continue staring at his hand and saying nothing), he turned his attention to the menu, holding it up before his face for a little while just to hide his furious blush until it died down a bit. Of course, by hiding behind his menu, Ryou was missing quite the spectacle that was going on a few tables away... 


	7. A Scene

**Authors' Note:**  Yes, another update!  This fic has really been loads of fun to write.  Baka!Honda and Slut!Ryuuji really entertained us greatly in writing this chapter.  Well, they invariably entertain us, but then, maybe PM and I are just easily amused.  We have so much more fun in store.  Look for another update by the weekend sometime, I'd say.  Thanks to everyone who reviewed!  It really encourages us to keep this up!

****

Disclaimer:  Nope, we don't own anything, except Yuki and Skunkzilla and they're not in this chapter.  

Sarith McGregor:  Wow, thank you so much!  It really means a lot to us to hear that, since it's hard to tell exactly how our writing styles would mesh to the outside observer.  And these couplings are definitely two of our favorites!  And so glad that you can picture the devil/angel fighting over Ryou's conscience, too!  It amuses us greatly.

Wildwolf:  Seto says that he'd prefer not to comment on that.  And then he curses us for spreading his internal aesthetics to the outside world.  He's still in denial.  And we will continue to update!  Even in PM's absence, since we've got quite a bit more written, the story will get its semi-regular updates.  Thanks so much for sticking with us!

Acursed Angel:  Thank you!  And doesn't everybody have a little bit of a darker side?  Even if Ryou's is pretty mild, really.  Honda and Ryuuji aren't really mean… just unfortunate?  Besides, if Honda wasn't a bit of a tactless baka, then this fic wouldn't be possible.   Besides, he and Ryuuji are going to get some comeuppance shortly…

Shamanic Guardian Lena:  Hehehe… oh, we always need to know how we're doing!  Sorry about the semi-evil ending.  It just fell into the natural break.  And now you get a whole chapter devoted to just that!  Thank you so much for sticking with our fic from the start!

Mikazuki Kagaya:  Wow, thank you so much!  We really do try hard to keep them in character, so it's nice to know that we haven't let them down!  And we hope that your head will recover.  Hope you enjoy the chapter!

MarmaladeGirl:  Thank you so much!  And as requested, here is a fairly quick update!  Sorry to keep you guessing, but the chapter break just naturally fell there.  Oh, and Ryou's got a lot more confusion in store for him before we're done, I'm afraid!  Hang in there!

The Evil Laugh:  Well, we're very glad that someone appreciates a good cliffie!  ::blush:: Thank you for all of the compliments.  We're really glad you're enjoying it.  And the updates should be fairly regular for some time.  Oh, and we're probably not done with the devil just yet!  He's got to have his moments, ne?  Thank you!

****

****

****

****

**_Chapter 7_**

****

**_A Scene_**

Of course, eventually Honda had paused in his glaring at Seto long enough to realize that Ryuuji was giving him a rather strange look, and it clearly wasn't a happy one, either. He blinked a few times, trying to clear his head of all Ryou-related thoughts for the moment. "Gomen ne. You have to admit that it's something of a shock... seeing Ryou out so soon... and seeing him out with Kaiba of all people, especially. It just distracted me..." Honda said, trying to push it off to the side as unimportant, because he knew that it wasn't really supposed to be.  
  
Ryuuji felt relieved once Honda finally seemed to snap out of it. He certainly hoped that it was the surprise of it and nothing more. "It's fine..." he said simply, before smoothly beginning to resume their conversation from earlier. "So, do you think that you'll want to--"  
  
"I can't believe that Kaiba," Honda said, interrupting Ryuuji with quite a bit of anger rising in his voice now, as he caught sight of the billioinaire taking Ryou's hand. "That bastard... I can't believe he would just start touching Ryou like that! Doesn't know that Ryou is shy?! Doesn't he know that you don't just go around doing that to Ryou on your first date?!" Honda was so focused on that disturbing sight, particularly on the way Ryou was blushing and gazing at Seto at the moment, that he wasn't paying any attention to the way that Ryuuji was gazing at him at the moment. This was decidedly a mistake on his part.  
  
As Honda interrupted him in mid-sentence and once again began to rant about Seto and Ryou, Ryuuji's eyebrow twitched. He did not like feeling as if he were invisible, and he did not like being ignored so that Honda could focus on the minute details of everything that Ryou and Seto were doing. It was an unfamiliar feeling to Ryuuji, who was almost always the center of attention when he wanted to be. And it was one that he didn't like at all. Not to mention... given the way Honda was acting at the moment... this all was beginning to make Ryuuji a little jealous. Whereas some idiotic fools undoubtedly would have started yelling at Honda for his obviously tactless behavior, though, Ryuuji would do no such thing. Instead, he would just have to get Honda's attention to focus completely on him via other means. "They're just holding hands, Hiroto... I don't see what the big deal about that is..." Ryuuji said in a silken tone, grinning at Honda wickedly as he let his hand find the other's thigh underneath the table and slowly begin to slide its way up. If this didn't get Honda's attention, then there was just something wrong with him.  
  
"It's so wrong, becau--" Indeed, Honda's words died in mid-rant as he felt something warm brush against his thigh. He gulped a bit, cheeks pinking as he realized that it was Ryuuji's hand. "R-Ryuuji..." Honda whispered, feeling very grateful that there was a tablecloth to conceal the other's actions from everyone else in the restaurant. "What are you doing...?"  
  
"What do you _think_ I'm doing, Hiroto...?" Ryuuji asked archly, shooting the brunette a suggestive look and letting his hand slide up a bit further.  
  
Hiroto shook his head blankly, then sighed at the sensations the touch was sending through his body in spite of himself. His hazel eyes slid shut for a moment, only to snap open again as he remembered where they were. Honda slowly opened his eyes to smile across the table at Ryuuji. And that was when he saw it. The unthinkable. Kaiba Seto was actually _kissing_ Ryou's hand! That was one step away from... Honda glared over at them once again, making an angered sound that was oddly punctuated by a sigh, as the pleasurable sensation of Ryuuji's touch continued to affect him. "Do you see what you're doing to me...?" Honda sighed, gazing at Ryuuji with a dazed smile. Then he shook his head. "Demo, we shouldn't do that now. Ryou needs help. Did you see what Kaiba just did to him?! Did you?! He kissed his hand--_kissed_ his hand!!! Somebody needs to put a stop to this now..." And judging by the look in those hazel eyes of his at the moment, it was quite possible that by 'somebody,' Honda meant himself. 

Ryuuji, who of course was not stupid, was less than pleased by this concept as he removed his hand to glare at Honda before biting out, "You mean somebody like you?"  


The words came out harsher than they should have, but Ryuuji was getting extremely annoyed by his koi. He knew that Honda was worried about Ryou, as was he… in his own way. Sure, he felt somewhat guilty about what he had technically done by getting together with Honda, but at the same time he didn't think it was something to obsess over. Ryou, despite his innocence, was a big boy and could take care of himself. He didn't quite understand Honda's need to take care of Ryou, a confusion that translated into nothing less than an extreme exasperation with the brunette.  


"Yes," Honda answered without thinking. After all, he was too busy seething about what was happening with Ryou, and thus a little inclined to not listen very carefully… or read the expression on Ryuuji's face as a warning sign.  


"And I suppose you're going to go up there and tell Kaiba to back off before he ruins Bakura-kun's innocence, am I correct?" Ryuuji continued, his voice dangerously sarcastic. And, of course, Honda didn't bother to notice what was happening, as he was too busy staring at the other couple. It was apparent, to most of the observers (and there were a few), that Honda was teetering on the edge of a very steep cliff and if he didn't stop and pay attention soon, he was going to be toppling off before anybody could blink.  


"Yes!" That was definitely the wrong answer to give, but Honda liked the idea. "That is exactly what I'm going to do."  


Going… going….  


"Honda, are you even listening to me?" the question was asked very softly, but the anger in those few words was very noticeable. Noticeable to everyone *except* Honda Hiroto, of course. The brunette didn't even catch the use of his last name, something that should have set off the warning signals but failed to do so since he was still too busy watching Seto and Ryou.   
  


Currently, the two were talking in very low tones, and Ryou's face was a very bright shade of red as he nodded in quiet agreement with whatever Seto was saying.  


Ryuuji's face was a bit red now as well… although it was red from anger rather than any type of embarrassment.  


"He better not be suggesting anything… bad," Honda continued, oblivious to the fact that his koi was like a pot of hot water that was about to boil over if somebody didn't do something very quickly.  


Going… going….  


"Hon… da…" Ryuuji gritted out, each syllable now its own separate word as he stood up, the emerald-green eyes flaring as he glared.  


"If he does anything to hurt him, I'll…"  


Gone.  


Silence.  


"Ryuuji?" Honda's head snapped over to where his koi had been sitting… and realized very suddenly that the only thing left was air. A quick glance around the restaurant proved to him that Ryuuji had not decided to take an impromptu bathroom break; currently, the black-haired teen was walking out the exit and soon disappeared from sight.  


*Oh crap.*  


Perhaps if Honda had been thinking more carefully, he would have run after his koi.  


But, as established by his prior behavior, Honda was not thinking carefully and he didn't go after Ryuuji. Instead, he just sat there, staring after him as if he expected for Ryuuji to come back at any moment with a lame excuse about… who knows, maybe he needed to chase another squirrel or something. After all, those squirrels seemed to be the basis of a lot of problems for Ryuuji….  


A sigh escaped his lips as he realized that it was very unlikely that Ryuuji would be coming back that night.  


Honda was not the only person who noticed and was affected by Ryuuji's unexpected departure. Several tables away, both Ryou watched the scene from the corner of his eye. Ryou watched silently and as inconspicuously as he could as Honda slumped back in his seat, hand massaging his forehead as he let out a sigh.  


Something very much like guilt began to nibble away at his conscience, and he couldn't get rid of it no matter how hard he tried. He knew, deep down, that Honda and Ryuuji had gotten what they deserved… and what he had done to them was really no worse than what they had done to him. He, at least, was justified in his actions.  


They had not been.  


Right?  


Ryou wasn't blind; he had seen the expression on Ryuuji's face before the abrupt exit. There had been mostly anger, definitely, but there had also been a hint of sadness that Ryou couldn't help but recognize as what he had felt when Honda had broken the news to him. Well, tried to break the news… he had left before Honda could really finish.  


He hadn't meant to hurt them like this.  


Part of him had known, all along, that something like this was inevitable if he was to continue on with his plan. And he didn't like that fact, since he hadn't really wanted to deliberately hurt anybody. He had just wanted to know whether or not the break-up had been a mistake or something that was really meant to be. He wanted… closure.  


Not this.

Seto knew, of course, what the look on Ryou's face meant. That guilty and regretful little expression was only too obvious. Especially since Seto had clandestinely been watching the scene between Honda and Ryuuji play out, and he'd clearly noted the raven-haired male's exit, it was all too easy to guess what Ryou was thinking. For his part, Seto was pleased that at the least, things were going according to the plan. They were making progress. If this kept up, then eventually Ryou would have his answers or his revenge or whatever it was that he needed from this. _If _they continued...  
  
Seto gazed over at Ryou for a long moment, regarding him silently. "You're blaming yourself. I can tell that you are. Don't be so self-absorbed, Ryou. Do you think that everything in the world happens because of the choices that you make? Do you honestly believe that no one else in this situation other than you made any decisions of their own?" After his words, Seto's features gentled a bit before he went on.   
  
"Ryou... Honda made his own choices just now. If he'd wanted to, he could have chosen to ignore the sight of the two of us together, and then I have no doubt in my mind that he and Otogi would still be on their date. He could have at least opted to exercise a little self-control and decided not to stare at us continuously. He didn't do that, either. The only thing that you should be thinking about right now is why... why did it bother Honda so much to see us together...?" Seto moved his chair closer, wrapping an arm around Ryou holding him loosely. It was partially done to obscure Ryou's expression from Honda, because Seto believed that if the other brunette took one look at Ryou's face right now, he'd guess something was up. Ryou just looked too guilty... Something in the back of Seto's mind pointed out that he didn't need to touch Ryou and that moving his chair probably would have been sufficient, but the billionaire brushed such thoughts aside. As the waiter approached them to take their order, Seto dismissed him with no more than a look. Then he gazed down at Ryou again. "Is this really so hard for you...?" Seto asked softly.

"Yes," Ryou replied so bluntly that he surprised Seto and himself. "This is difficult… but it's too late for me to do anything about it, isn't it?"   
**  
**"Why would you say that?" Seto's brow furrowed as he stared at the white-haired teen with the air of someone who didn't understand the person he was speaking to. Which was exactly what was happening; he didn't understand Ryou at all. How could he, when they were so different from one another?   
**  
**Ryou looked up at him, his face completely unreadable.  
  
"I've already hurt them."  
  



	8. Aftermath

**Authors' Note:**  Yes, due to ff.net-related complications (i.e. it was down), the update waited until this weekend.  At the least, this chapter is longer than usual.  And sweeter than usual, too, I think.  Hope you enjoy!  Thanks to all who reviewed! --Neph

****

**Disclaimer:  **Nope, we still don't own anything, except Yuki and Skunkzilla and they're not in this chapter.  

MarmaladeGirl:  Ah, we do so enjoy the Honda/Ryuuji interaction!  So glad you liked it!  And I'd have to agree that Ryou had a hard time figuring anything out.  *grins*  I'm sure more confusion awaits him after this chapter.

Shamanic Guardian Lena:  Aww… thank you!  We both really are glad to know that you like it.  Oh, and Honda and Ryuuji aren't quite done suffering just yet.  Just taking a little break.  Lol…

Mikazuki Kagaya:  Hee!  I shudder to think of all of the wild animals that are currently being mailed to Yami no Malik.  We will definitely keep this up (though not until PM returns), because we enjoy writing this story very much!

The Evil Laugh:  Yes, we recognize you!  No cliffy here, either, I fear.  We enjoy hearing your thoughts on our chapter endings!  And poor Honda will have to figure out how to handle this situation… though given his personality, it might not be such a good idea…  *blush*  Thank you so much!  We will definitely keep writing this as soon as PM returns.  The good news is that we have enough written for one more PM-less update at the least.  Hope you get your DVDs.  PM can sympathize… she's always threatening to steal mine.  

AnimeFan13:  Thank you!  We will!

****

****

****

****

**_Chapter 8_**

****

**_Aftermath_**

Ryuuji had walked out of the restaurant and was about to use his cell phone in order to call for a taxi when he suddenly stopped and sighed. He couldn't tell whether or not he was still annoyed enough to be walking away like this… he knew he was angry, of course. That was obvious. But did he really want to express his anger this way?   
**  
**For a moment, he just stood there, motionless, as he glared furiously at everything around him. It was almost as if each person walking by was actually a certain idiotic brunette who needed to have his head beat in. Or at least that spike on his head done away with. Needless to say, it didn't make him feel any better about the whole incident, although he wouldn't go as far as to say that it made him feel worse.  
  
"Honda no bakayarou," he mumbled darkly to himself as he continued to stand there. He wondered if Honda had even noticed his departure, or if he was still too busy staring at Ryou to do anything. Sure, he knew that Ryou needed more taking care of than most people usually did. But that didn't mean that he understood Honda's need to coddle the other teen. He couldn't tell if it was a sense of misplaced guilt or… jealousy.   
**  
**He really, really hoped that it was the first one. But Ryuuji was a realist and he knew that even if it was mostly the first emotion, the second one would have some bearing as well. And although he really couldn't blame Honda for feeling that way… it still annoyed him to no end.   
**  
**After all, what happened to Ryou wasn't really Honda's problem, was it? There was no need to be worrying so much. Despite what everyone said about Seto, Ryuuji was sure that the white-haired teen would be fine with him. It wasn't as if Seto would do anything to harm Ryou… he doubted that Seto would even harbor such intentions. Anything that could harm his company was a definite no, so there really was no reason why Seto would put everything in jeopardy just to… to do what? What reason would Seto have to hurt Ryou?   
**  
**There wasn't one, really. But then again, he didn't really know why Seto would have been out with Ryou. So he shouldn't be that surprised that Honda should be so shocked. 

Meanwhile, back in the restaurant, Honda Hiroto was, at the moment, feeling something other than shocked. He was slowly beginning to realize just exactly how much of an idiot he'd been acting like when Ryuuji had walked out on him. Naturally, what he felt more than anything at the present was regret. And still, he kept glancing over at Ryou and Seto, feeling unable to keep his eyes completely off of them, even though he knew he was only asking for trouble by watching.   
  
Honda winced a bit as he saw Seto put his arm around Ryou, and at the moment, he could feel the urge to go over and try to talk some sense into Ryou rise up again. That or try and knock some sense into Seto and get him away from Ryou in one fell swoop.  
  
As that urge was gnawing at him, though, another thought stopped Honda in his tracks. _Ryuuji.__ I was ignoring him like an idiot... and he was so angry when he walked out... demo, I drove us here. What if he's waiting for me outside and feeling miserable? What if he hasn't left? I couldn't just leave him out there like that... not when I know that I owe him an apology... not when I know that I've hurt him...  
  
_Honda drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes, reminding himself that there would be other occasions for talking to Ryou and other chances to try force Seto to leave him alone if it came to that. He did feel guilty over the way he'd ended things with Ryou... and worried that he'd driven Ryou into the arms of someone who would hurt him or take advantage of him, for when was Kaiba Seto ever anything but cold and calculating? Still, for now, there was something more important.  
  
It took some willpower not to look over at the two of them again, but Honda managed it, paying for the drinks he and Ryuuji had ordered and walking out quickly. From the moment he walked into the parking lot, Honda saw Ryuuji standing there. His back was turned and he was mumbling something to himself.  
  
Honda caught the mention of his name and something about an idiot... it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. So, the brunette silently drew closer until he stood right behind Ryuuji. "Un. I _am_ an idiot..." he said softly, gazing at Ryuuji with apologetic hazel eyes.  
  
Ryuuji whirled around, his thoughts having been interrupted by that familiar voice with a most welcome note of apology in it. Still, it wasn't as if Honda would simply sound apologetic and it would all be forgotten. Ryuuji's forgiveness wasn't won _quite_ that easily. "And here I was wondering if you'd even noticed that I was gone..." Ryuuji replied, a note of sarcasm in his voice in spite of the truth to his words.  
  
"Ryuuji..." Honda murmured, walking around the other to face him so that he could draw the raven-haired male into his arms. "Gomen nasai... I was acting like a complete idiot. Demo, of course I noticed. I noticed you walking out, and I felt like such a fool. I didn't even realize how riduculously wrapped up I was getting in watching Ryou until it was too late. I was out with you... and I should have been focusing on you..." Honda added apologetically.  
  
"Well, at least you can admit it when you were wrong. That's more than one can hope for with most people..." Ryuuji replied, grinning a bit. It was really all but impossible for him to stay mad at Honda when he gazed at him with such a geniune look of apology in his hazel eyes and the warmth of their bodies was drawn together. "Why did you have to be such a baka? It was going to be such a nice date, too," Ryuuji added, his lips drawing into a slight pout.  
  
"I suppose I just felt like the whole thing was my fault," Honda said, his features sobering. "I felt bad enough for ending things with Ryou, and when I saw him out with Kaiba, I worried about sorts of mistakes he might make because he was feeling hurt. I guess I felt like I would be to blame, because I was the one who hurt Ryou in the first place. If I had never been involved with him, I doubt that he ever would have gone out with Kaiba." Honda sighed regretfully at the thought.  
  
"Hiroto..." Ryuuji said, his features softening. He gazed up at the brunette with emerald eyes filled with warmth. "You can't blame yourself for that. Bakura can take care of himself. He makes his own choices. You don't have to worry about taking care of him now. You've got to stop feeling guilty and get that through your head somehow. I know that it's hard. I don't feel good about doing what we did to him either. Demo, the only one you really need to take care of now... is me..." With those words, Ryuuji closed the space between them and drew Honda into a kiss.

Honda accepted the kiss eagerly, leaning into it and returning it fully. It had been just what he'd needed. Somehow, Ryuuji had known that. A little reminder of everything that _was_ right. A little reminder that he'd made the right decision. The passion that rose in the kiss, the feeling of the other's lips against his own, left Honda with little room for doubt. Kissing Ryuuji felt so very nice...  
  
Even if deep down inside, Honda did still feel guilty over having hurt Ryou, this helped. It helped make him realize that making any decision other than the one he'd made would have been worse. He would have hurt Ryuuji in the process and cast aside something that he truly wanted. "Ryuuji..." Honda murmured, when the lack of oxygen had momentarily parted the kiss. "I'm sorry that I was acting like such an idiot. I chose to be with you, because you're the one that I want to be with."  
  
Honda's gentle reassurance was exactly what Ryuuji needed to hear at the moment, too. It had felt so wonderful when Honda had chosen to be with him. Deep down inside, it had seemed to Ryuuji like almost too good of a thing to last for long. Perhaps that was why he might be a little less understanding or a little bit more jealous than usual. Regardless, it was just especially nice to hear Honda say such a thing at this moment. "Well, I suppose that it would be only right for me to overlook a brief bout of idiocy on your part. I know that you care about Ryou still, at least as a friend. I do, too. Let's just forget what happened, and focus on the rest of the evening."  
  
Honda nodded, grinning a bit roguishly at Ryuuji. "We should do that. Eating is highly overrated. After all, we still have the best part of the evening left."  
  
"Oh?" Ryuuji replied, quirking a brow suggestively.  
  
"That's right. I still have to take you home." With that, Honda leaned in for another kiss, deciding that taking Ryuuji home could be put off for another minute, since he didn't quite feel inclined to wait that long before kissing him again.

*****

Things hadn't begun to get truly awkward until Seto had climbed into the driver's seat and pulled the closed the door behind him. Sure, there had been the uncomfortable silence that followed Ryou's admission, but that had been cleared away with the arrival of the waiter. Dinner had passed calmly enough. True, Seto wasn't much for making frivolous conversation just for the sake of hearing his own voice, and true, Ryou had been in a rather distressed state at the beginning of the meal, but between the welcome distraction of food and Seto's attempts to speak more than he usually would in response to Ryou's polite conversation, it hadn't been bad at all.  
  
It hadn't been exactly comfortable, which was oddly fitting, in a way, because, after all, when are first dates ever comfortable? And even the as the air in the car thickened with tension as Seto drove along in silence, one couldn't help but note that this, too, would be typical of a first date. The tense silence of the trip home, often filled with thoughts on both sides about who might attempt to kiss whom and how far things would go... Of course, this tense silence was filled with thoughts other than those.  
  
For his part, Seto had let his mind wander over to business easily enough. It was so common for him to ride along in a car in silence, which would typically be the case save when it was punctuated by business calls, that his mind could easily drift over to thoughts of a nagging distribution problem and linger there to fill up the uncomfortable silence.  
  
None of this helped Ryou in the least, of course. It seemed to make things all the worse, because as the silence grew deeper and thicker, it somehow got harder and harder to break. He'd awkardly shifted in his seat, tried to brush through his hair, and cleared his throat repeatedly, trying to pierce the heavy air, but it was all to no avail. Really, the last thing the silver-haired teen wanted was to be left in silence with his thoughts. He'd been able to mostly keep his mind off of Honda and Ryuuji through the course of dinner, but now, all of those guilty little pricks of conscience seemed to be welling up again. Ryou couldn't help but wonder if he'd done the right thing. Did he really want to see them miserable? Did he really want to be responsible for causing them problems? Then again, did he really like the alternative? _How can it be that my choices are either to sit back and just take this or cause them suffering? I just want all of this to be resolved. I do still want answers...  
  
_"We're here."   
  
Seto's quiet voice broke through Ryou's thoughts, once again startling him somewhat. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts that he'd hardly noticed that the car was no longer moving and was, in fact, sitting in his driveway. Ryou turned towards Seto, blinking a few times and wearing an uncomfortable expression. "Anou... Kai--Seto...a--" The words seemed quite determined to die in Ryou's throat,   
and he simply stared at the other, desperately trying to form some sentence, though Ryou really had no idea what one was supposed to say or do to bid one's fictional date a good evening. Somewhere inside, Ryou sarcastically thought that he probably was supposed to end a fictional date with a made-up kiss, though he hardly knew what that would entail. Possibly lying to someone about it the next day? Or maybe planting a stage kiss on Seto...? Ryou considered the latter possibility to be absurdly unlikely and distractedly pondered Seto's probable reaction to such inappropriate behavior. Of course, all of these thoughts were expressly designed to keep Ryou from thinking about the awkwardness at hand.  
  
"You know, you can still call the whole thing off. If this is making you unhappy, we don't have to do this. It's still entirely up to you," Seto said gently after having exhausted his patience waiting for Ryou to form comprehensible words.   
  
Ryou didn't know how to reply to that. He couldn't help but cringe slightly though, as he noticed the obvious lack of patience in Seto's voice. It was nice, really, that Seto was making an effort to hide his annoyance... but Ryou had become pretty good at hearing the underlying emotions. After all, he did live 24-7 with the somewhat psychopathic spirit of the Sennen Ring, and Yami no Bakura was the type of person who could speak with absolutely no emotion in his voice and still expect the victim to figure out that he was annoyed. Victim usually meaning Ryou.  
  
Of course, none of this had anything to do with what was happening now. Ryou just had this wonderful ability of rambling endlessly to himself while ignoring everybody around him. It worked out pretty well as long as the before-mentioned 'everybody' wasn't getting rabidly annoyed with the ignoring part.  But the question... it wasn't the first time that Seto had asked him this. It wasn't even the second. It was simply the most recent of a long string of questions that kept asking... _begging_ for the same thing.  
  
End this.  
  
End this now, before they got into it any further. He had gotten what he wanted, hadn't he? He had seen Honda's reaction, and he didn't have any doubt that there was more to the situation than Honda had been able to tell him. But was that enough? Was that everything he wanted, or did he need more?  And did he need this 'more' enough to put Seto through this mess any longer?   
**  
**The intelligent part of him... the part of him that was usually ignored, unfortunately, said that he had enough and he could end this. What was the point of continuing? All it did was hurt him, and it hurt the people he trusted... used to trust, at least. Did he trust them anymore? He didn't really know... and he cared very much for that answer.  
  
But... why was he thinking about this?! Seto was starting to stare at him as if he had turned into stone... and considering the rate his mouth was moving, Seto was pretty much right. He hadn't said anything intelligent or worth noting in the past couple of hours, it seemed. His brain was working, but the messages weren't translating to his mouth. And if it wasn't translating to his mouth, then there really was no point in saying anything because it wouldn't be said! And... oh Kami-sama what on earth was he talking about? He had just lost complete track of his thoughts... although that probably wasn't saying much because it happened to be a fairly common occurance. Look at him! He was such a scatter-brain... it was no wonder Honda wanted to break up with him! He probably got tired of this... this... oh-so-wonderful ability to get completely off-track and forget that there happened to be a rest of the world waiting for him to get his ass in gear and start talking like a normal human being.  
  
Which, by the way, he _still_ wasn't doing! Ryou's mind was a mess, and it almost looked like he was going to have a complete nervous breakdown if somebody didn't do something... fast. And while Ryou knew this very well, he couldn't think of any way to send this message to Seto, who was now staring at him as if something had just gone very wrong with the white-haired boy. Which it had, true enough, but there was no reason to make him feel that way. Even though it was true. Even though....  
  
He nearly jumped out of his skin when Seto took his hand. The sudden warmth was enough to jolt him awake, as if somebody had thrown a bucket of ice cold water on him. Except... it wasn't that it was cold. It worked because it was warm... comforting. He might have even called it 'loving', but he wasn't that delusional anymore so there was really no reason to go that far.  
  
Seto looked at him, and he stared back. He needed to give an answer, didn't he? Unfortunately, despite the fact that his mind was starting to function a bit more properly, his mouth still refused to create coherent words. So unless he was going to learn sign language in the next couple of seconds (also providing that Seto already knew sign language), he was going to have to figure something else out to convey his answer.  
  
Ryou looked at Seto, and he bit nervously on his lip. And before anybody could blink, he leaned over and kissed Seto very quickly on the cheek.   
  
If anybody had asked him, at that exact moment, why he had done such a thing... Ryou wouldn't have been able to give an answer. If anybody asked him later why he had done such a thing, he still wouldn't have been able to give an answer. He probably never would be able to figure out why he had done that, and that knowledge couldn't help but depress him slightly.  
  
He could see that Seto was surprised, and surprised people usually asked questions. And since Ryou wasn't in any place to be giving answers, he turned and quickly ran into the apartment, slamming the door on his way in.   
  
Seto most certainly had a few questions in mind... As Ryou had leaned towards him, for a moment, all thoughts had left Seto's mind and he had just sat there, somehow unable to fathom what the person beside him was trying to do. Naturally, when the leaning in had given rise to a soft brush of lips against his cheek, Seto was more than surprised.  
  
Really, he was just about as close to flummoxed as Kaiba Seto could be under normal circumstances. The only thing that might've shocked him more at the present moment was if Ryou had pounced on him and proceeded to act even more out of character. And maybe then Honda and Ryuuji would pop up out of the back seat and proceed to resume bickering. Yes, that would shock him more. Other than that, the possibilities were things that were even less probable.  
  
As it was, Seto was suddenly left surprised and alone in his car with a mind filled with questions. Questions that he just knew were going to run through his mind constantly and keep him awake. Foremost among them, one thought kept cropping up again and again.   
  
_Why did Ryou kiss me like that?  
  
_Seto put the car into gear, pausing before driving off to put his fingertips lightly to his cheek for just a moment, brushing the spot where Ryou's lips had been almost a moment ago absently. Then he drove on, holding that rare feeling inside of not understanding why something had happened at all. The kiss was gentle and sweet... almost a friendly gesture... but then, a kiss... a kiss given to him of all people... could hardly be assumed to be something that was merely friendly.  
  
And yet, the whole reason this situation even existed was because of the way Ryou felt about Honda. _So, why kiss me? Gratitude? Loneliness? Desperation? Confusion? Or was it something else...? Just the way he looked at me, just for that split second...   
  
Why the hell am I overanalyzing this anyway? It doesn't matter, does it? Ryou kissed me and ran off into his house. Ryou's behavior did not make sense. Ryou's behavior never makes sense. _Truthfully, deep down, Seto considered Ryou's approach to the world to be quite wrong. To be so easily trodden upon... so soft and fragile... someone who seemed to always hover on the verge of being broken, one way or another, who couldn't take advantage of someone like that. Ryou was just a sweet, trusting fool... a true innocent.   
  
_So, then why does a part of me want to protect that innocence? Why is it that what Honda and Otogi did to him makes me a bit angry? A bit more angry than I should   
be, to say the least...  
  
_Seto chose to let those questions slip from his mind as he drove off into the night, rolling down the window and inhaling the cool night air. And still his mind thrummed with other questions that he would find no answers to.


	9. Explanation

**Authors' Note:**  Sorry for the delay! What with PM being out of town, _again_, up until a few days ago, we had a bit of a hiatus on the writing. *pelts PM with marshmallows*  Having said that, she's back again, and we are writing on our ficcies once more!  Thanks so much to all who reviewed!  Oh, and you'll definitely want to read the chapter after this one.  It's a doozy!  *grins and rubs hands together* Trust me, it'll be well worth the wait!  --Neph

****

**Disclaimer:  **Nope, we still don't own anything, except Yuki and Skunkzilla and they're not in this chapter.  

The Evil Laugh:  Yes, that's why I hide from PM!  I'm sure she'd rob me blind if she could.  And what can we say, we like long days?  So glad you like the Honda/Ryuuji!  And the little kiss!  We're so glad that you like our collaboration.  We really do have a great time writing together.  And fear not, the charade is not over just yet!  We will be updating soon!  And don't worry, PM lives to abuse bishies!

Mikazuki Kagaya:  Wow!  Thank you, thank you!  I haven't read her books, but I'll look into them.  And I'll pester PM to see if she's perchance read them.  We have much more ahead!  Though, I don't know how lucky Seto will think himself in the future.  It's never quite that easy, ne?

SGL:  You are so right!  Definitely the calm before the storm!  Thanks so much!

angelbird12241:  Thanks!  We'll be updating again soon!

Ice Puppet:  Yes, we adore Ryuuji!  So glad that you think we're doing him justice!  And the squirrel amuses us muchly, as well.

Marmalade Girl:  Well, you should be back by now!  I'm not sure the lack of updates is a good thing, but at least you didn't miss any of them.  Thanks so much for your review!  The craziness is only going to get worse, I'm afraid.  Poor Seto, indeed!

Windswift:  Ryou definitely has problems.  And this has just been the tip of the iceberg.  Thanks so much!  We will be updating soon!

Green Eyes Silver Dragon:  Thank you very much!  The next update should come soon.  So glad that you're enjoying it!

**_Chapter 9_**

****

**_Explanation_**

Matters such as the ones they had just experienced could not simply be kissed away, so it was of no particular surprise when Honda ushered his koi away from a group of well-wishers the next school day. Ryuuji, who was still in a bit of a mood despite their making up, was not at all pleased when he realized exactly what Honda was taking the trouble to talk to him about.  


"You want to what?!" Ryuuji's voice had gotten remakably high-pitched with that one word, and he noted with more than a little satisfaction when Honda winced.  


"I want to explain to him what happened."  


"I heard you, I heard you!" Ryuuji repeated, his tone impatient as he glared at Honda. "I just don't believe you! After everything that happened, you have to go and pull this stunt again! Are you just acting like a masochist or do is there actual reasoning behind your actions?!"  


Part of him knew that he was being unreasonable, but enough of him didn't really care so he just continued to rant until Honda placed a hand on his shoulder. This calmed him down enough so that he sulked instead, which to Honda wasn't that much of an improvement. Still, it was better than nothing and for that Honda was extraordinarily grateful. He liked Ryuuji *very* much, as had been shown several times before, but that didn't mean he couldn't help but be annoyed when the black-haired teen went into one of his emotional fits.  


Well, he wasn't sure 'emotional fit' was the right way of putting it, but it sounded about right when one considered the circumstances.  


"Calm down," Honda finally said as patiently as he could.  


Ryuuji didn't explode, something which surprised him, but an eyebrow twitched. That reminded him greatly of Yami no Yuugi, who seemed to do that every time somebody annoyed him (which was pretty often, actually).  


"Calm down?" There was a hint of dangerous lack of emotion behind those words, but this time Honda was wise enough to catch them as Ryuuji repeated again, "You want me to calm down?"  


"Ryuuji… I know you don't like this. But even though Ryou isn't my boyfriend anymore, it doesn't mean that I can just abandon him. He's still *our* friend."  


When Ryuuji didn't answer, Honda didn't panic. He just waited, patiently, with the firm belief that sooner or later Ryuuji would be swayed to his side. And if he didn't… well, the back-up plan was to knock him out to make sure that he didn't say anything to Ryou before Honda could, and to make it up to him with a hundred kisses.  


Or something like that.  


"You know, you have this annoying ability of being able to make sense when I really don't want you to," Ryuuji finally grumbled, his tone of voice conveying his very grudging defeat. And even after Honda had kissed him on the nose between blabbering thanks and apologies and the such, the expression on his face didn't change.

*****

The expression on Bakura Ryou's face didn't change either when he realized that a certain ex-lover was coming up to him and asking him if they could take a moment to go and talk to each other. To be frank, his night had been rather... how should he put it, _hellish_ after he had run away from Seto. Once the door had slammed, Ryou had immediately run up to his level and watched from there as Seto had driven off. As soon as his 'date' was gone, Ryou had wandered into his home where he spent the rest of the night wondering exactly what drugs had been put in his food to make him act like such an idiot. Currently, he was absolutely convinced that there was still something wrong with him. That would, at least, explain the headache he had.   
**  
**It never occured to him, of course, that the headache might have been the product of banging his head against a wall in a rather misguided attempt to figure out why he had acted the way he did. And the only reason why he stopped was not because he had finally started to feel pain, but because the spirit of the Sennen Ring had screamed for him to stop before _he_ got a headache. And if Yami no Bakura got a headache, it could only be a matter of time before Ryou was being strangled by his own intestines.  
  
Definitely not a pleasant thought, and it was definitely enough incentive to stop Ryou from making a rather ugly bruise on his face. Right now though, Ryou was still somewhat in a state of shock, especially since Honda had come to him with the most... odd request. Would he mind taking the time to have a few words with the brunette? Just for a little while... he needed to say something.  
  
Well, that wasn't really the best way to get Ryou's good graces. After all, the last time he had spoken to Honda, he had discovered that the brunette was breaking up with him and running off with... with... another one of his friends! That kind of thing tended to stick with people, and it also made it more difficult for Ryou to have any incentive to listen to Honda.   
  
But Honda had asked very nicely and Ryou couldn't think of any polite way to decline. He could think of many rude ways of telling Honda to get lost, but it didn't mean he would actually use those ways. He couldn't even contemplate of using those ways... it wasn't in his personality. Lots of things weren't in his personality, although lately he had been starting to ignore that fact as he... well, expanded his horizons. That was a nice way of putting it, if not completely accurate. But who cared about accuracy these days anyway?  
  
Still, his curiosity won out, because he was somewhat interested in knowing what Honda would want to say to him. Who knows, maybe it would mean the end of this ploy so that both he and Seto could get on with their own lives. And that was definitely a good thing, especially since Ryou was going to have to be very hard-pressed to face the billioniare again after what had occured on their last 'date'.  
  
So, with that sparkling little hope in mind, Ryou got up and followed Honda out of the classroom.  
  
He tried not to sweat when he felt two icy blue eyes glaring a hole in his back as he did so.

Actually, Seto wasn't glaring, per se. In fact, it was more of a hard stare that he was giving Ryou, as if he could somehow burn a hole into Ryou's consciousness and make sense out of everything if he only looked at him hard enough. In spite of himself, Seto was still internally puzzling over Ryou's actions at the end of the evening the night before. On top of this, there was now some sort of a conversation with Honda looming on the horizon. It was unfortunate for Seto that he couldn't make much headway at all in deciphering what motivated Ryou's behavior, so he simply stared after them, wondering whether this conversation would end up being a good or a bad thing. After all, if it gave Ryou answers (or whatever it was that he was seeking), then this whole charade could be over, which would surely be a good thing. Then Kaiba Seto could go back to being Kaiba Seto, the isolated, intense person whose life was only driven by a few key motivations--none of which was a certain white-haired male who seemed to have been taking up an inordinate amount of space in his thoughts, given his relative lack of importance. Then agan, Seto was well aware of the possibility that things could play out in an entirely different fashion. For a time after the other two had departed, he was plagued with images of a Ryou who ran into the classroom, threw himself at him, and began sobbing against Seto for all of the class to see. That notion disturbed Seto on a great many levels... somewhere in there, the thought of seeing Ryou ending up hurting more after this definitely bothered him more than it should... just seeing him go off to speak with Honda gave him something of a bad feeling...  
  
Honda had led Ryou out into the hallway and headed down a short ways until they had reached a deserted corridor where they could speak privately. "I know that what I did hurt you..." Honda began awkwardly, gazing down at his feet and shifting his weight back and forth a bit as he spoke. "That was never my intention. I never wanted you to be sad, and I think that right now, you probably are... a little... unless you're really over it and moving on with K--" Honda cut himself off before he got off track and began to tread on dangerous material. If he got started on Seto now, on seeing Seto with Ryou the night before, there was an excellent chance that he'd never even make it to the point he was trying to reach.   
  
Hence, he cleared his throat a bit and tried again. "I just thought that it might help you if you understood what happened. I think that you have a right to know, and I want you to see that I never lied to you or did anything with the deliberate intention of misleading you. It just... kind of... happened..." Honda added uncomfortably, cheeks tinging a slight pink at the memory of how Ryuuji had practically pounced on him and then kissed him. "Anyway, if there's anything that you'd like to know... I'll try to answer you as best I can..." Honda finished, giving Ryou an encouraging look. "Was there anything...?"

Ryou couldn't help but stare at Honda, an incredulous expression gracing his features as he stuttered, "Na… nani?"  
  
He was, plainly said, very shocked about this sudden turn of events. It seemed that one moment he was still trying to figure out how his world could have become so messed up… and now he was actually being _offered_ a chance to have his questions answered.  
  
Immediately, he wondered if there was something up. How else to explain this… this… he didn't even have a name for it. It was just too weird….  
  
"Ryou?"  
**  
**Ryou jerked when he heard that as he stared at Honda with wide eyes. On one hand, Honda was one of the few people he was comfortable with when it came to using his first name. But that was a different time, and now he just flinched.  
  
"Please don't call me that, Honda-kun."  
**  
**Honda looked somewhat hurt as Ryou turned away. "I'm just not comfortable with you calling me that anymore, Honda-kun."  
  
"Gomen, Bakura."  
**  
**The two settled into an uncomfortable silence as Ryou toyed with questions. Although it just seemed that when he was finally being given an oppurtunity to figure out everything, he couldn't figure out what he wanted to know. All the questions that had been swimming in his head had apparantly cascaded out of his ears like a mini-waterfall, leaving him with a big, fat empty space.   
**  
**Finally, he looked up and asked, "What happened?" 

Honda's eyes widened a bit at Ryou's question Of all of the things that he'd been anticipating, he foolishly hadn't expected a large, vague, open-ended question like that to fall into his lap. "What happened?" he repeated, features scrunching somewhat in confusion, though his mouth hung open.  
  
Ryou nodded, and when it seemed that Honda was not going to say anything were he not prodded (and though Ryou was going to do this verbally, for an insane moment, he wondered whether or not prodding Honda with a stick might have been a more effective tool). "I want to know how this happened..." Ryou wasn't going to be more specific than that, because it would require mentioning how Honda choosing Ryuuji over him, and somehow, he knew that uttering those words would give him a bad feeling.  
  
Honda frowned thoughtfully, trying to figure out the best way to explain this without making the situation worse. Who knew what Ryou would do then? After all, their break-up had led to the insanity that was Ryou going out with Kaiba Seto. What was next, Yuugi's grandfather?! _Well, perhaps that's an extreme example, but still... _Yes, deep down somewhere inside Honda knew that there was something of a distinction between Seto and Yuugi's grandfather, but he did find the notion of Ryou going on a date with either one to be completely bizarre.   
  
Choosing his words as carefully as he could--which admittedly was not that carefully, for Honda had never been known for his tact and at the moment he was still sputtering rather awkwardly at random intervals--Honda began to tell Ryou how it had all changed that one night. "So, you know a few days back... when you and I were still, and I had walked you home, and I was trying to tell you that I wanted us to--" Honda broke off, shaking his head and trying to clear out all such extraneous thoughts that possibly could upset Ryou.   
**  
**He drew in a deep breath. "Well, anyway, I was walking back home and thinking about things between you and I, mostly. Just before I got home, though, Ryuuji just popped out of nowhere and sort of--" Honda again broke off, knowing better than to finish that sentence. He imagined that the phrase, 'pounced on me' would not make Ryou any more likely to forgive them--especially not Ryuuji. And Honda very much wanted Ryou to forgive both of them. He wasn't just trying to make things right for his own sake; Honda didn't want to see Ryuuji losing any of his friendships over this, either.   
  
Given that Ryou was now eyeing him strangely, Honda realized that he needed to hurry up and put something at the end of that sentence or start a new one, because the abrupt pause was growing more and more suspicious as it went on, and an accompanying expression was beginning to form on the silver-haired male's face. Of course, rushing to speak was usually not a good idea for Honda, not when the words needed to be chosen carefully. Naturally, what followed was something of a fiasco. "--uh, warned me about squirrels," Honda finished lamely. Then he grinned a bit at the memory. Rabid squirrels--only Ryuuji would even attempt so ridiculous an explanation. "Yeah, I know. It sounded absurd to me, too. So, anyway I started asking him what was going on. Well, Ryuuji started getting kind of--"  Danger. 'Suggestive' would not be something that Ryou would like to hear. "--and then he said that he couldn't take it anymore and I had no idea what he was talking about, so I asked him what he meant. Then he said that he needed to talk to me, but that he'd seen me looking upset when I was walking by and how I was good at making people laugh, and before I could try to get to the bottom of what he wanted to talk to me about, he just suddenly kis--," Honda blurted, clapping a hand over his mouth a moment too late this time, possibly due to the fact that he'd been talking so rapidly that his hand-to-mouth timing was off.   
  
His eyes widened a bit, and he looked at Ryou with something of a panicked expression. Still, now that he'd gone this far, Honda didn't see any other choice but to plunge on and get all of it out at once, before Ryou said or did anything, because he honestly didn't know if he could start telling Ryou the rest of this later. "Anyway, after that, I was kind of wondering what was going on, and then he told me that he... had feelings for me and wanted to be with me, but that it was my decision and that he wouldn't do anything or tell you what had happened if that was what I wanted. At first, I didn't believe any of it, because I was with you, and why would he... but then he convinced me that he was telling the truth. I had no idea what I should do or think..." Honda closed his eyes for a moment, remembering. "I didn't want to hurt you... I was so confused... but then he was just looking at me like he wanted me to kiss him, and I just knew. And so... I did..." Honda whispered, opening his eyes and gazing at Ryou again, now wearing a apologetic expression. "I never knew that it was coming. Honestly, I never even thought it was possible. I wouldn't have lied to you when we were together. You know that, Bakura. So, you see, neither one of use ever wanted to hurt you. It kind of just... happened... Is that what you wanted to know...?" Honda asked in a voice that was growing increasingly meek and eventually trailed off into nothing.   
  
Honda's eyes closed, as if he were scared to see Ryou's face. Something which was pretty understandable, actually, since who would want to see such a gentle face break down in tears? Or be in shock?  
  
That, to put it simply, was one of the reactions Honda had expected. Sadness, confusion... maybe a little anger? Just a minimum amount, of course... nothing that would warrant him to worry about somebody's safety. Ryou was such a quiet person... he seemed more likely to have a breakdown than go into full-blown psycho mode. Even though the news was admittedly harsh, Ryou didn't seem like the type of person who would act rashly. Or violently. Or anything that would deliberately seek out to affect other people.  
  
Well... hurt them was really the more accurate word.   
**  
**Honda waited for a reaction along the lines of tears and sniffling, but he never got one. Instead, he stayed there, eyes closed in guilt, when it finally occured to him that they had simply gone too long without a reaction. Not to say that he was going to welcome crying... it was simply what he had expected. He wasn't prepared to deal with no reaction whatsoever... a calm Ryou usually meant problems when he should be emotional. Not for himself, but for Ryou. Ryou tried to keep things bottled up within him, but it rarely worked. What usually ended up happening was a before-mentioned breakdown, which could be potentially lethal to Ryou and all observers.   
**  
**Honda opened his eyes, but Ryou was already gone.  
  
  



	10. Snapping

**Authors' Note:**  Sorry for the delay!  I was on vacation, but now I'm back.  This is such a fun chappie!  It really needs no further introduction.  Enjoy!--Neph

****

**Disclaimer:  **Nope, we still don't own anything, except Yuki and Skunkzilla and they're not in this chapter.  

Tuulikki:  Thank you so much!  So glad you like this ficcie!  And thanks for letting us know about the weird chapter switch.  That should be all fixed.  Hope this chapter is worth the wait!

MarmaladeGirl:  I like Honda, too!   He's sweet at heart, just a bit of a baka in his actions at times.  Hope that you enjoy the infamous chapter ten!  Thanks so much!

Windswift:  Yes, now you will find out where Ryou went.  And I'd have to agree about the banging one's head against the wall—not good.  As to shocking the hell out of everyone, someone might be doing just that in this chapter.  Thanks for sticking with this fic!

Youkai Kuronue:  Thank you so much!  So glad that you've enjoyed the fic!  Sorry for the delay in updating.  Here it is at last!

Ashuri chan:  Thanks!  Sorry to keep you waiting so long.  Lots more to come before everything gets sorted out.  Enjoy!

Mikazuki Kagaya:  Well, Yami no Bakura is not into having headaches himself.  XD  And I'm glad that we can help you out with squirrel-related pick-up lines.  Just be sure that you're outside.  You get some funny looks if you're indoors.  And we hope this chapter was worth the wait!

The Evil Laugh:  Aw… thank you so much!  Yes, poor clueless Honda.  He has no idea what he's just set into motion!  Can't blame Ryou for leaving, though.  Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Rowan and Sakura:  Sorry about the confusing switch between the first two chapters!  Thanks so much for all of the reviews!  Yami no Bakura will put in an appearance later on, but he's kind of been busy thus far.  You'll see what I mean by that.  I love the word 'flummoxed' as well.  Had to work it in!  

Ice Puppet:  Yes, Ryou's been through a lot, and it's not close to being over.  This chapter should answer the question about Ryou doing anything crazy, by the way… Hope it is to your liking!

Shinitenshi-shirotenshi:  Well, we hope that we can get you past your Ryuuji-hatred at some point.  He certainly carries his share of the blame in all of this, though.  He'll get a measure of comeuppance in this chapter, though.  Glad that you like the Seto!

SGL:  Hee!  Poke away!  And here is the next chappie!  Enjoy!

**_Chapter 10_**

****

**_Snapping_**

****

****

****

Ryou had long ago left the scene, not even bothering to reply to Honda. He might have felt guilty about this, but currently guilt was the last thing on his mind. Revenge and disembowelment were much higher priorities, he decided, with a cackle that was scarily similar to Yami no Bakura's.  
  
A small part of him thought that perhaps he was going too far. After all, Honda had been perfectly reasonable and he had given up a lot to tell Ryou the truth. The truth that he had wanted. The truth that he had been searching for, but only ended up hurting him even more.   
  
He had known all along that it would hurt him... after all, Ryou wasn't stupid. Although he could act like it at some times... well, often times... Ryou was pretty perceptive. He had realized long before he had actually asked Honda the question that perhaps he would be better off not knowing. Unfortunately, while Ryou was intelligent enough to figure *that* out, he wasn't intelligent enough to figure out that he should have stopped while he was ahead.  
  
Ahead? He had never been ahead, to be frank. This entire time... he had believed one thing only to find out that he was going in the wrong direction. He had foolishly believed that Honda and him would be together forever... or at least something close to it. Instead, he was now discovering how... how *easily* he had been replaced.   
**  
**Honda couldn't have been that happy with him if Ryuuji had come along so easily. So why didn't he ever just say so? Why was it that everyone seemed to believe that Ryou couldn't handle the truth? Why did they have to creep around him, only to reveal the truth when pressed to the limit? What was it about him that caused everyone around him to treat him like a stupid, pathetic child who couldn't think for himself and couldn't be relied on to handle matters in an appropriate way?  
  
Ryou was shaking as he walked, his vision somewhat blurred from the tears that he wanted to shed but refused to. And because he was so intent on his thoughts rather than taking care of not walking into walls, he promptly walked smack into the wall when the hallway ended.   
  
The white-haired teen yelped, an odd sound that he had never heard before. But it was too late for that, he thought sadly to himself, as he felt slightly faint. Did he really hit his head that badly? Or was this just another sign of how much of an idiot he was?  
  
"Bakura-kun! Daijoubu ka?" a concerned voice asked, its owner obviously very worried.  
  
To put it frankly, it was a nice gesture but the wrong person to give it. If it had been any other person on the entire planet, Ryou might have appreciated it. Even if it was Yami no Malik, it would have been preferable to who it really was. And because of this, combined with the fact that Ryou was not acting very Ryou-ish, a very traumatizing experience was about to occur.   
**  
**Ryou quickly turned to face Ryuuji, eyes slightly wild. Added to the way his hair had been mussed up during the fall, Ryou looked very scary indeed.

Whether or not Ryuuji was acting out of pure self-preservation instinct or whether he had actually perceived the fact that Ryou was verging on the point that one might refer to as 'dangerously unstable' at the present was uncertain, but either way, when he caught sight of the look on Ryou's face at that moment, Ryuuji stumbled back a few steps.   
  
"B-Bakura-kun?" he asked again, gazing at Ryou nervously. "Is something wrong? You don't look so--"  
  
That would be the point when something in Ryou just snapped completely. Even though Ryuuji's words had been spoken with good intentions, and even though he'd intended to convey nothing but concern, something about the way he said them made Ryou quite angry, quite possibly angrier than he'd ever been before. It was as if Ryuuji were treating him like a child, or a psychopath, or an idiot. And where did Ryuuji get off telling him how he looked?! Ryuuji should try getting dumped by Honda and then having to sit there and listen to how someone else had so easily seduced him away and then see how HE looked! Currently, Ryou was not in any frame of mind to take into account the fact that he'd asked Honda for an explanation. In that moment, he knew with whom the blame rightfully lay.   
  
Ryou's eyes narrowed as he glared up at Ryuuji. "Don't you dare talk to me like that," he snapped in a barely audible voice that nearly shook with anger.  
  
Ryuuji's eyes widened as he took in the look on Ryou's face. He seemed scarcely recognizable at the moment, and Ryuuji had no idea how he should handle this. Clearly, whatever it was that Honda had told him, it hadn't gone well. Ryuuji desperately looked around for some sign of his koi, who could at least tell him what had been said and make suggestions for ways of calming down the brewing tempest that was Ryou. _If only he were here..._ Ryuuji thought, sighing to himself as there was no trace of the brunette in sight.   
  
"Anou... try to calm down, Bakura-kun," Ryuuji said, nervously patting Ryou on the shoulder in an attempt to soothe the savage Ryou. "I'm sure if we just talked about--"  
  
CRACK!   
  
The sound of palm hitting cheek reverberated throughout the hallway as Ryou's hand flew up and abruptly silenced Ryuuji's attempt at conciliatory words. "Don't touch me!!!" Ryou cried, his voice rising to a shout by the end of his words.   
  
It was only as he was holding his reddening cheek that Ryuuji came to realize that 'hadn't gone well' was a definite understatement for the way things must have gone when Honda talked to Ryou. Ryuuji's jade-hued eyes widened as he saw the people along the hallway beginning to turn and stare at them in response to Ryou's shout and subsequent slap.  
  
Ryuuji felt bad enough for what had happened to Ryou to hold his temper in check for the present. Getting slapped once for stealing Honda away even eased a bit of the guilt that Ryuuji had felt over it. So, he was prepared to let it go...  
  
Ryuuji did not, however, wish to be a public spectacle this type of situation. He also knew that under normal circumstances, Ryou would feel even worse about being stared at by a large group of people than he would. All of this meant that he had to put a stop to this at once, before the confrontation got _too_ interesting to their onlookers and it became a matter of school-wide gossip. Not to mention public observation.  
  
Ryuuji reached out and caught Ryou's shoulders, holding him in place with gentle firmness. "Bakura-kun, you've got to calm down and get a hold of yourself. People are starting to stare at--"   
  
A moment too late, Ryuuji realized that touching Ryou again had definitely been a very bad idea. That was a moment after Ryou's hand had shot up and caught the end of his ponytail and yanked it hard.  
  
"Let go of me!!!" Ryou yelled, for once not caring in the least bit if people were staring. That was probably due largely to the fact that he hadn't noticed them at all. His anger had boiled over and erupted in a way that Ryou himself had never imagined, and now all he could focus on was Ryuuji. The one before him was the one who had stolen Honda away without a second thought. He had _kissed_ Honda, _his_ Honda, when it was so clearly wrong to do so.  
  
Ryuuji made a small yelp of pain at Ryou's tugging on his hair, and he winced, unconsciously loosening his grasp on the smaller male's shoulders. When Ryou's hand finally came free from his hair, Ryuuji could only stare downward in dismay at what remained in that small, pale palm, drawing in a shocked gasp. "My hair... you pulled out a piece of my hair..."  
  
Of course, having the other's grip loosened was precisely what the very angry Ryou had been awaiting. As Ryuuji stared down at the clump of silken black hair that was now grasped in Ryou's fist, the silver-haired teen had launched himself forward, pummeling the other's chest with both of his clenched fists. "You stole him from me! Why did you have to go out of your way to steal Hiroto from me?! You're a horrible, horrible person!" Ryou cried, his voice getting louder and louder as he went on, angry tears slowly trickling down his cheeks. 

The gasps and mutterings increased as Ryuuji lost his balance, causing the two topple over onto the ground in an extremely compromising position. A normal Ryou might have blushed, especially since such am embarrassing situation was happening in such a public place. Unfortunately for Ryuuji, who was still in shock from having his gorgeous hair pulled, this was not a normal Ryou. No, this was a hell-bent, revenge-driven, and insanely rabid Ryou who wanted to cause extreme damage. And this crazy Ryou was currently baring his teeth at Ryuuji.   
**  
**Ryuuji resisted the urge to shriek.   
  
Instead, he settled for shoving Ryou off of him. The good thing about Ryou's hysteria was that Ryou wasn't using as much force as he could have… well, then again, Ryuuji couldn't be sure of that. After all, he had never seen Ryou slap or punch anybody, and he had certainly never felt it. But even though Ryuuji had been punched before with much more force, it still hurt.  
  
A lot.  
  
There was quite a bit of sympathetic cooing from fangirls as Ryuuji pulled himself off the ground, a grimace on his face. But most of the witnesses were simply too busy ogling… the guys interested in a fight, and the girls were entertaining shounen-ai thoughts between two very cute guys.  
  
Ryou had stumbled slightly as he was pushed back. A part of him registered that Ryuuji was perfectly capable of beating him up black and blue, but the rest of him knew that Ryuuji wouldn't. He tried to rush at Ryuuji, but the raven-haired teen was faster. Before Ryou had reached hitting range, Ryuuji reached out to grab Ryou by the shoulders, stopping him in his tracks.   
**  
**"Bakura-kun, listen to me," Ryuuji tried to sound as calm as he possibly could, but he was still stung by Ryou's words. "I didn't steal Hiroto from you."  
  
"Usotsuki!" Ryou snapped, eyes closed as he shook his head angrily. "He told me what you did. He *told* me what happened! He told me how you jumped him after he dropped me off, and how you just… just… how could you?!"  
  
"I…." Ryuuji stuttered, trying to find the right words to keep Ryou from attacking him again. "Bakura-kun, I…."  
  
"You what?!"  
  
"Look, I don't quite know what Hiroto told you, but…."  
  
"I trusted you!"  
  
Almost everybody who saw what happened next could not believe their eyes. With that accusation, Ryou managed to wrench himself away from Ryuuji before slapping the poor teen again. Ryuuji's cheek was starting to become a brilliant shade of red, which some of the girls thought enhanced the color of his eyes. Thus, the muffled grunts of the two opponents were accompanied by some coos from the pleased fangirls who were fairly close to drooling.   
**  
**Ryuuji had, by this point, unfortunately, lost his patience with Ryou. Being attacked by an obviously distraught Ryou was one thing… being accused of being a 'horrible, horrible person' was another. Before anyone could blink, there was a full-blown catfight occurring between the two.   
  
  



End file.
